What's happening now in Arizona feels like déjà vu

A commentary drawing on Arizona’s earlier anti-immigrant backlash argues that today’s politics around immigration enforcement could be repeating history. It revisits the 2010 era in which Arizona passed major laws targeting undocumented residents, backed by Gov. Jan Brewer, and how the U.S. Supreme Court later limited much of that framework, after which key politicians lost momentum and Maricopa County faced federal costs tied to a racial profiling lawsuit. The piece links current midterm voter pressure to growing public disapproval of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Trump’s deportation agenda, citing concerns about family separation and alleged cruelty. It also recounts Arizona bilingual-education battles, including debates over whether only certain languages should be taught and the broader cultural politics behind them.