Introduction: Immigration and Federalism

Two of the most important legal trends of recent years have been the dramatic changes in the nation\u27s immigration laws and the general devolution of decision-making authority from federal to state and local governments. ... Taking them in turn, Professor Chang rejects each of the various policy rationales offered in opposition to federal authorization of state anti-immigrant welfare discrimination. ... Professor Romero explains that there is little reason to expect that immigration policy made by the states will be any less race-based than that made and enforced by the federal government, as racism has long dominated all levels of government. Despite his resultant pessimism about the impact of devolution of welfare and immigration law enforcement on noncitizens, Professor Romero suggests that there might nevertheless be some surprising advantages in allowing states a greater role in immigration lawmaking. ... They conclude that the racial and ethnic profiling that has dominated the anti-terrorism campaign - the dragnet arrests of more than 1,200 Arab or Muslim immigrants, interviews of 5,000 men of certain ages and national origin, intentional delays of visa processing in Arab nations, mass arrests of nonimmigrant student visa violators from Arab and Muslim countries, and targeted efforts to remove persons from Middle Eastern countries with outstanding deportation orders - operates further to entrench deeply destructive stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims as disloyal and dangerous