Dean Johnson Comments on Immigration Law for Christian Science Monitor
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented on the Georgia Legislature's proposed immigration reform for an article in the Christian Science Monitor. The Georgia law is modeled on the controversial measure enacted in Arizona last year and is described in the article as part of a "a bevy of new state immigration proposals" arising in "non-border states where Republicans are eager to challenge Washington on immigration enforcement and other perceived excesses and failures of federal power."
"What you're seeing in Georgia is what you're seeing across the country, where the demographics of immigration have changed substantially in the past 20 years," Dean Johnson said. But state immigration laws "are a very difficult political issue to peg" because there is dissension in both political parties over how to deal with immigration.
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.