The Recession and Immigration Policy

While reading Daniel Tichenor's book, Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America, I found it interesting how he related international crises to more restrictive immigration policies.  In describing this, Tichenor states, "When international crises produce isolationist responses in domestic politics, then, we should expect that the political and structural capacities of political actors advancing immigration restriction will be enhanced" (p. 44).  Although Tichenor published this book in 2002, I still find his evaluation of this pattern still evident in today's politics.  The world has been suffering an economic crisis, and in turn, we have seen political players, such as Jan Brewer, Joe Apairo, and the Tea Party moving towards a more isolationist policy regarding illegal immigration.  There have been arguments from many different political actors that the immigrants crossing the United State's border take jobs from those who are currently unemployed.  I think Tichenor's point is important to understand when analyzing policy changes, such as SB 1070, because it helps better explain why these changes could be happening.