FT.COM: Two years after the Arizona legislature passed a bill giving police unprecedented powers to stop and search anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, Mr Pearce and his law remain a lightning rod in the state, and nationally, for the heated immigration debate.
After a first flush of popularity, the law has left deep divisions in its wake, splitting public opinion across the country and angering the fast-growing Hispanic community, which feels it gives police a licence to target them on racial grounds.
But the most far-reaching division is the one emerging within the ranks of Republicans. For all the conservatives who hail Mr Pearce as a hero, many Republicans have looked on in horror as Hispanics flee a party in which they think they are not welcome… (more)
