Migrant Legislation Draws Call for Arizona boycott
/A Latino activist riled by
legislation that targets undocumented immigrants wants businesses and
corporations across the nation to boycott Arizona and book their events
elsewhere. Salvador Reza is working with a California-based immigrant
rights group to organize the boycott and hopes to publicize it through
Latino organizations across the country. Without an immigrant
workforce, he says, Arizona's economy would collapse. "To all the
businesspeople that are bringing conventions here, people that spend
money in Arizona, people that bring the golf conventions, people that
vacation here, go to somewhere else," said Reza, who runs Phoenix's
Macehualli Work Center. "Don't come to Arizona. It's a racist state."
Rep. Russell Pearce, the Republican sponsor of several immigration
bills, called the attempt to bring about a boycott "outrageous." Reza
and other Hispanic leaders and residents think that legislation
sponsored by Pearce and other Republican lawmakers could give Arizona a
bad image, similar to what the state suffered in the late 1980s over
the lack of a holiday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They
point to several specific bills:
Ban Spanish Legislation calling
for a vote that could ban Spanish and any other language other than
English from state and local government business. The state House of
Representatives is poised to give final approval to the 2006 ballot
measure. If the English-only proposal also passes the Senate, voters
would have the final say in the November 2006 election.
Hiring Freeze of Undocumented Immigrants
Legislation that prohibits cities, towns and counties from building or
maintaining a work center that facilitates the hiring of undocumented
immigrants. House Bill 2592 passed the House and will be considered in
the Senate.
No Public Housing Legislation
that would ban undocumented immigrants from living in public housing,
taking adult literacy courses and enrolling in college, among other
services. House Bill 2030 is considered a broader version of
voter-approved Proposition 200. It faces a final vote in the House
before it goes to the Senate.
Boycott Arizona
Reza and other Valley Hispanic leaders today will announce plans to
walk 25 miles to oppose the legislation. They expect more than 300
students, day laborers and Hispanic leaders to walk from Mesa to the
state Capitol on April 5 in opposition to the legislation. Tourism is a
big business in Valley of the Sun. An estimated 13 million people visit
Phoenix annually, contributing roughly $6 billion to the economy and
affecting 225,000 jobs. State tourism officials declined comment until
they know more about Reza's plan. One local official said a boycott
could have a tremendous effect on the economy. Reza's plan recalls a
wide and costly economic boycott of Arizona in the late 1980s, after
then-Gov. Evan Mecham rescinded a paid holiday honoring King. During
the King Day controversy, Arizona lost an estimated $200 million from
166 convention cancellations and the 1993 Super Bowl was moved. Voters
finally approved a King Day in 1992.