THE NEXT AMERICA

Victory on Arizona Immigration Law Could Cost Republicans in the Long Run

A green light from the Supreme Court could produce laws that worsen the GOP's problems with Hispanic voters.

By Beth Reinhard

Updated: April 24, 2012 | 4:13 p.m.
April 24, 2012 | 4:10 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, accompanied by by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks to reporters in Aston, Pa., Monday, April 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

If the Supreme Court rejects the Obama administration’s challenge to the Arizona immigration law, the ruling would be widely viewed as a victory for the Republican Party, whose leadership spearheaded the law in the state and championed its spirit nationwide.

But at what cost?

(RELATED: Could the Immigration Case Turn Ariz. into a Blue State?)

Vindicating Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration could embolden other Republican-led states to pass similarly tough laws --  as Georgia, Utah, Indiana, Arizona, and South Carolina have already done – and further the perception that the GOP is hostile to immigrants, and indirectly, to the Hispanic community. 

That would put the party on the wrong side of demographics. Hispanics comprise the fastest growing share of the U.S. electorate and wield the power to swing elections in key battleground states, including Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia. These states helped put Obama in the White House and will determine the majority party for decades to come.

(RELATED: The Making of an Immigration Deal?)


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