The Spatial Political Demography of Immigration Reform

Although nearly half of all unauthorized immigrants are visa overstayers, not border crossers, it is the latter group that seems to catch the attention of the press and politicians. I mention this largely because a big deal has been made about securing the border as a prerequisite to allowing current unauthorized immigrants to begin a path toward citizenship. No matter how they came to the US, however, the distribution of unauthorized immigrants is not spatially random. The Pew Hispanic Research Center regularly estimates the size and distribution of this population using data from the annual Current Population Survey. Slate has posted a very nice state-by-state map on its website that gives you a  picture of how each state compares to the others. Clearly, there are parts of the US where the size of the population may produce a greater local demand to do something. Still, it is interesting to me that Pew's studies consistently show that immigration reform is not very high on the list of important issues in the minds of the average American voter.