Gov. Jan Brewer had not yet even signed SB 1070 when the first calls came for an economic boycott against Arizona to protest the controversial immigration law.
Since then, cities from Los Angeles to Boston have passed resolutions prohibiting official travel to or business with the Grand Canyon State, artists from rapper Kanye West to filmmaker Michael Moore have vowed not to come here, and groups across the country are pressuring major league baseball to move the 2011 All-Star Game out of Arizona.
Now, groups in support of SB 1070 are urging boycotts against any anti-SB 1070 entity boycotting Arizona. Some are calling for a “buy-cott” — getting people to come to Arizona to spend money as a way to show support for the state and its new immigration law.
On the popular social networking site Facebook, there are at least 176 groups and special pages that have been formed urging boycotts of one sort or another, some in support of SB 1070, some against it. They include “Let’s boycott — the nation against Arizona SB 1070,” “Boycott the boycotters — Arizona and friends strike back!!!” and one that seems confused about what it’s boycotting: “Boycott or Support Arizona for the Illegal Immigration Law.”
It would be funny if the situation wasn’t so serious. Arizona was hit particularly hard by the nation’s recession and has yet to see significant signs of recovery. The Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association’s website states that “Arizona tourism is currently in a very fragile state of recovery and the negative perceptions surrounding this legislation are tarnishing Arizona’s image and could easily have a devastating effect on that progress.” According to the site, 200,000 Arizona families rely on tourism for their livelihoods. Clearly, the last thing our state needs is an economic boycott.
SB 1070 requires law enforcement officers as part of any lawful stop to check the person’s immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” he or she is not in the United States legally. And it requires immigrants to carry proof that they are here legally. Latinos, civil rights groups and law enforcement are concerned that this law will create an environment ripe for racial profiling and discrimination.
But people also need to keep in mind that SB 1070 was basically an act of desperation by Arizona to get President Barack Obama and the federal government to live up to their responsibility to secure our border. In a commentary for ESPN, Brewer detailed a number of issues that led to SB 1070. She pointed out that Phoenix had 316 kidnapping cases in 2009, and almost all of those kidnapped were illegal immigrants or linked to the Mexican drug trade; that busts of drop houses, where illegal immigrants are held for ransom or abused, are “not uncommon occurrences in Arizona neighborhoods;” and that Arizona has about 6,000 prison inmates who are foreign nationals, costing the state about $150 million a year.
Illegal immigration is a problem that must be addressed, especially in how it’s affecting our citizens living closest to the border. But SB 1070, no matter how well-intentioned, has great potential to trample the rights of innocent people, create a police-state atmosphere, and hinder the efforts of law enforcement to focus on other serious crimes.
Last week, AzPOST approved plans for training police officers, but didn’t address the most important aspect of that: what defines “reasonable suspicion.” This is where our attention should be focused right now — holding AzPOST and Brewer accountable for coming up with clear guidelines.
Rallies, boycotts and buy-cotts make us feel like we’re doing something. But really, they just fuel anger and outrage and keep us in a cat-chasing-its-tail frame of mind as we look for more ways to boycott the state or boycott the boycotters or boycott the boycotters who are boycotting the boycotters.
Enough already.
globebag posted at 7:04 pm on Wed, Jun 2, 2010.
No, the boycott craze is not out of control. I boycott Arizona because of its Gestapo DUI tactics. What a total buzz killer. PAranoia describes the environment in AZ whether you are a legal citizen having a glass of wine at dinner or an illegal. I say pass on AZ when there are so many other nicer places to visit. Thank your freak lawmakers for making goofy laws.
Doodad posted at 3:18 am on Mon, May 31, 2010.
Lets Boycott the Boycotters . . . . . .
Check out http:// azfightsback. com .
And if the Boycotters want to know why so many of us want this law enforced, tell them to check out ojjpac. org ,
If that's not reason enough, I don't what would be ! ! ! !
samkat posted at 9:41 pm on Sun, May 30, 2010.
In looking at the list of organizations boycotting Arizona, we shouldn't feel too much of a hit. The SEIU represents most of the illegals in this country so with a right to work state, it is not in their favor. Ditto for the AFL-CIO. The idiots calling for the boycotts are hurting the very people they are supposedly working for. If anything, they will accelerate a more hasty departure for many of them. I will venture to say that the businesses most affected will be the ones who cater to the illegals. If this thing is still going by the end of the summer, we should see a drop in school enrollments which should be a good thing.
DrJCA1 posted at 7:39 pm on Sun, May 30, 2010.
I would think that if you are involved in criminal activity, that is reasonable suspicion. I cannot imagine a police officer stopping a hispanic guy coming out of his home in Chandler to get his mail or a family out for a stroll on a nice day. That would obviously be profiling. Screw the boycotters, we'll boycott their states. Let's start listing those places in the papers.
stan000 posted at 8:06 am on Sun, May 30, 2010.
I'm always amused that the liberals can turn out a big crowd or start a boycott to try and force others to do what they want and the media falls all over themselves promoting it. What makes it even funnier is that the conservatives can't seem to manage to draw a crowd, support a boycott or get much press coverage.
The liberals have it figured out, act like a spoiled child, pout and hold your breath, and you'll get your way. So thee liberals end up getting more of our tax dollars, the crimes they don't believe in ignored and even the constitution re-read to mean something other than what was intended. All the while the conservatives sit home or at work ignoring the fact that their taxes are going up and they are being deprived of liberties that they will sorely miss someday in the future.