How Did Harsh Immigration Laws Spread to Your Statehouse?

Hint: The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council and legal experts like Kris Kobach had a lot to do with it.

Since Arizona passed its anti-immigration law in 2010, 35 other states have attempted to pass similar all-encompassing bills. But this isn’t just a case of a bunch of like-minded state pols taking an idea and running with it. Check out the flowchart below to see how the proliferation of immigration bills was coordinated—sometimes by legislators in a “dynamic partnership” with corporate lobbyists.

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And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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