I Guess Massachusetts Wants to Be Boycotted

Why else would they pass a tough new immigration law?  Jim Geraghty has the details and some reactions in the Morning Jolt newsletter:

First Scott Brown, Now Tough on Illegal Immigration: The New Massachusetts, Baby!

I need something cheery to head into Memorial Day weekend. How about Massachusetts suddenly emulating Arizona? "The measure, which passed on a 28-10 vote as an amendment to the budget, would bar the state from doing business with any company found to break federal laws barring illegal immigrant hiring. It would also toughen penalties for creating or using fake identification documents, and explicitly deny in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.The amendment would also require the state's public health insurance program to verify residency through the Department of Homeland Security, and would require the state to give legal residents priority for subsidized housing."

The JammieWearingFool urges us not to get too excited: "Now even if a law like this is actually enacted, don't forget the esteemed Attorney General recently said it's not illegal to be an illegal in Massachusetts, so don't expect any robust enforcement, if any. And to be sure you could expect an army of ACLU types to descend like locusts filing asylum claims considering some rather recent precedent of a certain famous illegal alien. Then there's some formidable obstacles in the House to overcome, and if the attitude of certain Massholes is any indication, there's absolutely nothing that will change any minds. Then again, even the dimmest of hacks can read polls, and this surely is an eye-opener: 'Democrats had resisted such a sweeping proposal, but spent last evening negotiating today's measure, shortly after a new polled showed 84 percent of the liberal-leaning state's voters supported tough immigration rules barring state services to illegal immigrants.'"

Wonder whether Calderón would get applauded in the Massachusetts State Senate.
The Belmont Club attributes it to the economy: "If . . . Massachusetts is any indicator, the path back to a robust economy may depart from the President's world view. The Bay State Senate recently passed a bill cracking down on illegal immigrants. . . . It was an extraordinary action for the Bluest of Blue States and reflected the pressure on the American job market, which is unabated."
Weasel Zippers sees a reprise of the old welfare debate: "People in this state are sick and tired of dishing out tax money to those who are here illegally and come specifically to our state knowing full-well this is welfare heaven that doesn't differentiate between legal and illegal."

So, let's see all those brave souls in the Los Angeles and San Francisco city councils pass a boycott of Massachusetts.