Key parts of rural America and ag-dependent metro counties have more than a quarter of populations born in foreign countries.

Las etiquetas partidistas distorsionan lo que los votantes rurales piensan sobre la inmigración. Por lo general, los votantes rurales apoyan la posición de los demócratas cuando no se presenta la etiqueta del partido. Cuando la posición es vinculada con el Partido Demócrata o Republicano, los votantes rurales prefieren la posición del Partido Republicano.

More than 340 rural leaders from across the country gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota, in late June for the 2011 Gathering of the National Rural Assembly. Participants networked and discussed a wide array of rural – and more broadly American – issues: education, green energy, socioeconomic development, and many topics of rural policy.

Anger over immigration isn't limited to Arizona. The Boston Globe tells this sad story from Milford, Massachusetts (location above). 

In a public field, a group of Ecuadorans planted a heart-shaped flower bed, a goodwill gesture to their adopted home. "A day later, only mulch and a few stubs remained, the flowers ripped out and the mini-fencing dumped in a trash barrel," reports Brian Mooney. “They’re disappointed,’’ said the Rev. Manuel Clavijo, associate pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Church, where immigrants, many in this country illegally, worship. “It was meant to be a sign of their commitment to the town, that they can contribute.’’

Mooney reports that immigration is now a "key issue in state political races this year." The legislature has passed restrictions on public benefits for undocumented immigrants and the issue has become important in this year's governor's race.

The immigration has heated up in part because states are in financial binds. Bloomberg reports, however, that state revenues showed their first quarterly gain since 2008. 

Most of that increase in the January through March time period is due to higher revenues in New York and California, where tax receipts were up. “Recent data show an unmistakable improvement in the economy and a slight firming in state tax-revenue collections,” wrote the authors of a report on state revenues.

Still, state revenues are down 9.3 percent compared with the same period two years ago.