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La Raza organizes boycott of Arizona to protest immigration law
La Raza organizes boycott of Arizona to protest immigration law
By Krissah Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 6, 2010; 1:32 PM
The nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group announced Thursday that it has organized a boycott of Arizona in the wake of the state's new law targeting illegal immigrants.
The National Council of La Raza, along with 19 other labor and civil rights groups, will pull money and meetings out of the state and is asking all companies and organizations to move major events and conferences planned there to other venues. Specifically, La Raza wants Major League Baseball to renege on its promise to hold the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix.
"No conferences. No travel," said Janet Murguía, president of La Raza. "We are looking at major events with big visibility, and we're asking all people to consider whether any purchase of goods from the state would further this unjust law."
The law at the center of the debate, S.B. 1070, has given Arizona's police broad power to stop people on suspicion of being in the state illegally. It has become the newest rallying cry for supporters of a plan to overhaul the immigration system and provide a way for the bulk of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
Arizona has come under fire from a wide spectrum of groups that oppose the law. The state's hotel and lodging association said in the past week 19 meetings scheduled for there have been canceled, resulting in an economic loss of more than $6 million.
Regardless of their position on the new law, Arizona officials have united against the boycott, worried about its effect on a state economy already struggling through the economic recession.
Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who has defended the law as a necessary tool for dealing with illegal immigration, said Wednesday at a summit of Arizona manufacturers that she has been disappointed by calls for a boycott. "How could further punishing families and businesses, large and small, be a solution viewed as constructive?" she asked. "This is all about illegal immigration, and we need to get our borders secured. Even if it means loss of business."
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Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, whose city has sued the state in an attempt to kill the immigration law, said he hopes the lawsuit means that his city will be exempted from the boycotts.
There is no clear method for preventing widespread economic harm, though Murguía said her group hopes to mitigate the impact on those who oppose the law. Arizona is home to more than 2 million Hispanics -- about 30 percent of its population -- and an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Nearly 20 percent of its workforce is foreign-born, according to the 2007 American Community Survey, including one in four workers in tourism-related industries.
La Raza surveyed 400 Latinos in Arizona last week before announcing the boycott and found that a slight majority, 55 percent, support a boycott.
"We take no pleasure in calling for a boycott, but we feel there is no alternative," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union. "Any adverse impacts in the short term are outweighed by the long-term benefits of stamping out discrimination."
La Raza has already been joined by the Major League Baseball Players Association, which has come out against the law. About 40 percent of the league's players are Latinos, and civil rights groups are hoping they will help to pressure baseball owners to punish Arizona.
The sting of the last major boycott against Arizona is still fresh: In the early 1990s, the NFL Players Association persuaded the league's owners to pull the 1993 Super Bowl from the state when it failed to approve a holiday in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Other supporters of the boycott include the D.C. Council, which is calling for a travel ban on Arizona; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has also directed city employees to avoid business travel to the state; and the Mexican state of Sonora, which canceled a cross-border meeting that was to be held in Phoenix in June.
The civil rights and labor groups announced their boycott at La Raza headquarters Thursday morning. They said they will also do a big voter registration push in Arizona, hoping to increase the number of Hispanics that go to the polls this November.
Their ultimate target is Washington, where they hope to turn President Obama's promise Wednesday to "begin work this year" on comprehensive immigration reform into action.
By Krissah Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 6, 2010; 1:32 PM
The nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group announced Thursday that it has organized a boycott of Arizona in the wake of the state's new law targeting illegal immigrants.
The National Council of La Raza, along with 19 other labor and civil rights groups, will pull money and meetings out of the state and is asking all companies and organizations to move major events and conferences planned there to other venues. Specifically, La Raza wants Major League Baseball to renege on its promise to hold the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix.
"No conferences. No travel," said Janet Murguía, president of La Raza. "We are looking at major events with big visibility, and we're asking all people to consider whether any purchase of goods from the state would further this unjust law."
The law at the center of the debate, S.B. 1070, has given Arizona's police broad power to stop people on suspicion of being in the state illegally. It has become the newest rallying cry for supporters of a plan to overhaul the immigration system and provide a way for the bulk of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
Arizona has come under fire from a wide spectrum of groups that oppose the law. The state's hotel and lodging association said in the past week 19 meetings scheduled for there have been canceled, resulting in an economic loss of more than $6 million.
Regardless of their position on the new law, Arizona officials have united against the boycott, worried about its effect on a state economy already struggling through the economic recession.
Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who has defended the law as a necessary tool for dealing with illegal immigration, said Wednesday at a summit of Arizona manufacturers that she has been disappointed by calls for a boycott. "How could further punishing families and businesses, large and small, be a solution viewed as constructive?" she asked. "This is all about illegal immigration, and we need to get our borders secured. Even if it means loss of business."
ad_icon
Click here!
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, whose city has sued the state in an attempt to kill the immigration law, said he hopes the lawsuit means that his city will be exempted from the boycotts.
There is no clear method for preventing widespread economic harm, though Murguía said her group hopes to mitigate the impact on those who oppose the law. Arizona is home to more than 2 million Hispanics -- about 30 percent of its population -- and an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Nearly 20 percent of its workforce is foreign-born, according to the 2007 American Community Survey, including one in four workers in tourism-related industries.
La Raza surveyed 400 Latinos in Arizona last week before announcing the boycott and found that a slight majority, 55 percent, support a boycott.
"We take no pleasure in calling for a boycott, but we feel there is no alternative," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union. "Any adverse impacts in the short term are outweighed by the long-term benefits of stamping out discrimination."
La Raza has already been joined by the Major League Baseball Players Association, which has come out against the law. About 40 percent of the league's players are Latinos, and civil rights groups are hoping they will help to pressure baseball owners to punish Arizona.
The sting of the last major boycott against Arizona is still fresh: In the early 1990s, the NFL Players Association persuaded the league's owners to pull the 1993 Super Bowl from the state when it failed to approve a holiday in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Other supporters of the boycott include the D.C. Council, which is calling for a travel ban on Arizona; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has also directed city employees to avoid business travel to the state; and the Mexican state of Sonora, which canceled a cross-border meeting that was to be held in Phoenix in June.
The civil rights and labor groups announced their boycott at La Raza headquarters Thursday morning. They said they will also do a big voter registration push in Arizona, hoping to increase the number of Hispanics that go to the polls this November.
Their ultimate target is Washington, where they hope to turn President Obama's promise Wednesday to "begin work this year" on comprehensive immigration reform into action.
Isnt McCain from AZ? Why has he not faced this issue before now and why is it now that he seems to back away from the subject?
I do not agree with the law and I said as soon as I heard it passed that the next thing would be boycotts. I mean, what else they gonna do? There is no easy answer but we better start coming up with one or this is just the beginning im afraid.
I do not agree with the law and I said as soon as I heard it passed that the next thing would be boycotts. I mean, what else they gonna do? There is no easy answer but we better start coming up with one or this is just the beginning im afraid.
I have been watching this whole debate with great interest. I have tried really hard to see both sides of the issue. I really understand the border states frustration with illegal immigration, particulary in light of the violent drug dealer activity happening in Mexico. I know lots of it is spilling over the border. I can see where illegal immigration has to be stopped.
My issue with this law is that it does absolutely target all latinos. Imagine being born here, being a legitimate citizen of the US and for no other reason but your ethnic origin, potentially being harrassed. I know I would be unhappy. The problem is the law and what constitutes reasonable suspicion is so open to interpretation. All you need is one racist cop and it's an excuse to harrass. All Latino's are not criminals and all criminals are not latino or illegal immigrants. I think the intent is probably good, and I can see that it's clear something needs to be done, but it just doesn't seem to me that this law as it's currently written is the right answer to the problem.
I saw an interview with John McCain (I like him) and he said that increased border patrols, and camera's at the border would be a great start. Rudy Guliano seemed to agree with him. It made sense to me.
My issue with this law is that it does absolutely target all latinos. Imagine being born here, being a legitimate citizen of the US and for no other reason but your ethnic origin, potentially being harrassed. I know I would be unhappy. The problem is the law and what constitutes reasonable suspicion is so open to interpretation. All you need is one racist cop and it's an excuse to harrass. All Latino's are not criminals and all criminals are not latino or illegal immigrants. I think the intent is probably good, and I can see that it's clear something needs to be done, but it just doesn't seem to me that this law as it's currently written is the right answer to the problem.
I saw an interview with John McCain (I like him) and he said that increased border patrols, and camera's at the border would be a great start. Rudy Guliano seemed to agree with him. It made sense to me.
Its unfortunate that there isn't a less controversial way to deal with the same issue and for both sides to share their concerns and dialogue about it. I don't see anything productive coming out of the boycott. Then again I don't agree with the law, although I don't believe blanket amnesty for all illegal immigrants is the right thing to do either.
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