LAS FAMILIAS INMIGRANTES MEXICANAS ANTE LAS REFORMAS DE POLÍTICA MIGRATORIA EN ARIZONA. LAS PERCEPCIONES DE LAS LEYES ANTIINMIGRANTES.

The aim of this paper is to present some of the immigration policy reforms that have been proposed in the state of Arizona and understand the immigrants' perceptions through their testimony. The Mexican Household Survey in Phoenix, 2007 is used to describe the Mexican families' structure and immigration status. An opinion survey conducted with Mexican family members is used to show their perception about anti-immigrant atmosphere that exists specifically in Phoenix. Families are afraid to be separated because some family members are unauthorized; others stated the abuses of employers in labor relations in addition to the arrests at the discretion of sheriff Arpaio. The recent literature, reports of human rights organizations, and our results show that there is a transformation within immigrant families; the immigration policies are creating a family social stratification based on immigration status and increased vulnerability due to xenophobia and racist environment experienced by Mexican immigrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]