Day laborers looking for work - (photo Monica Almeida / NYT)
An interesting study on the contrasting views of the illegal immigration debate is going on in neighboring states Arizona and New Mexico according to a recent article in the Seattle Times. While Arizona has passed one of (if not the) strictest law in history to fight illegal immigration, New Mexico has taken steps to help integrate illegal immigrants into their community by a number of means; including giving out drivers licenses.
The big differences can be seen in what each state has had to deal with in regards to illegal immigration, and more importantly, border crime. While New Mexico does have some border crime, Arizona has the “highest number of drug seizures and arrests of illegal crossers of any state.”
The illegal immigrant population is also a factor. Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants compared to New Mexico’s 55,000.
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