assignment 1 week 2

The topic of illegal immigration has become a front-page issue in local and national news in recent months. In Arizona, this issue takes center stage, as most residents, legal or not, are now quite familiar with the infamous debate and current legal fight over senate bill 1070. As we enter a period of critical and legal debate over the bill, it would seem essential to give the issue some evaluation under the scope of policy formulation and thus unravel some of the controversy it has developed, primarily how the agenda was set. This short piece will not cover the latter stages of policy making, as it will not be lengthy enough to do, so we will explore the initial stage and try to understand how this issue has grown and become institutionalized.

According to Adolino and Blake, in their book Comparing Public Policies, policy formulation consists of a government’s management of problems and solutions, “…governments are working on all fronts simultaneously-continually shifting gears from the identification of problems to the creation of potential solutions and then back again,” (Adolino & Blake, 2010, p. 8). This would seem the case in this debate, more so at the local level within the framework of Arizona policy. The timetable of this legislation was created through years of smaller attempts to curb illegal immigration, certainly centered around the enforcement of supposed policy by the local law enforcement and specifically the Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office. These attempts consisted of raids on businesses, police enforcements of day labor centers, curbing day labor gatherings, and specific round ups by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. For example, recent news reports from local media, ABC 15, show the following from July 31st 2010, “The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office arrested 36 people in a crime and immigration sweep Thursday and Friday, and six are suspected to be illegal immigrants,” (abc15.com, 2010) These types of events have ultimately helped set the agenda and create a systemic agenda evolving into more forefront and institutionalized agenda, which took it from an issue with potential resolution to an issue with real policy making and outcomes (Adolino & Blake, 2010, pp. 11). According to Governor Jan Brewer, quoted in the New York Times, on April 23rd, 2010, “said the law, ‘represents another tool for our state to use as we work to solve a crisis we did not create and the federal government has refused to fix.’ ”, (Archibold, 2010). This is at least a reference that expresses show previous policy that has stymied. Nevertheless it seems that legislation is needed, just not necessarily the proposals in S.B. 1070. This is evident by the passing of S.B. 1070. Thus, what this constitutes is that through years of events and pressure from outside and inside initiation the decision to address more formally, illegal immigration became a reality; these pressures resulted from policy stakeholders in government and interest groups creating awareness and pressures to make policy decisions. (Adolino & Blake, 2010, pp. 12). There seems to be little evidence to support any type of mobilization initiation as the issue is a basic institutionalized issue across the national platform, no current evidence supports, unless currently unearthed, that government brought the issue forth because it was not being addressed at some level (pp. 12). Consolidation could be considered a method for the agenda set because there is a base of policy that exists, and some policy makers work form that platform and expand upon it, which helped create S.B 1070. (pp. 13).
The initial stage in policy formulation is critical, most importantly in providing an emphasis as to how the issue has come to be. With illegal immigration, it has become recently controversial, but it rests upon the past policy that has developed, now it just involves some resolution of the legality and the degree of impact it will have on the communities it supposedly protects-legal or not.

Abc15.com (2010, July 31). MCSO: 36 arrested in Arizona crime and immigration
sweep. Retrieved from: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/mcso%3A-36-arrested-in-arizona-immigration-sweep

Adolino, Jessica R. & Blake, Charles H. (2010). Comparing Public Policies: Issues and Choices in Industrialized Countries. Washington D.C.: CQ Press.

Archibold, Randal C. (2010, April 23). Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration.
New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html

Week 1

Hello,

My name is Fabian-Look forward to a great semester and working with fellow classmates online!