Anti-Immigrant Vitriol in Arizona

Arizona has become the "clash of civilizations" in the United States between an older non-Hispanic white population and a younger heavily Hispanic population. Census data show that 76 percent of Arizonans aged 45 and older are non-Hispanic white (and only 15 percent are Hispanic in those ages), whereas less than half (48 percent) of Arizonans under the age of 45 are non-Hispanic white (and 37 percent are Hispanic in those ages). Those two groups comprise 88 percent of the population, with the remainder including American Indians (5 percent), African Americans (4 percent), and Asians and others (3 percent). 


These demographic dynamics almost certainly fed into the decision recently by the State of Arizona to declare that the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican-American program was illegal and would be defunded unless it was dramatically altered.


And, while it less clear at this time what the motivation was for the shooting rampage yesterday at a public meeting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that killed 6 people and leaves her near death, there is little question that anti-immigrant vitriol has created a very uncomfortable political climate in that state. A good summary of this has been posted on Two Weeks Notice.