Raul Grijalva is leading the charge to protest SB 1070 -- by trying to bankrupt the state with boycotts. Y'know, if state legislators won't listen to reason...
Yesterday, CNN’s Jack Cafferty wrote a (racist) column suggesting that SB 1070 is “already working” to stop illegal immigration. His evidence: Mexico recently issued a travel advisory alert warning Mexican citizens that they may be racially harassed if they visit Arizona. Touting the usual right-wing propaganda, Cafferty cites the usual, anti-Latino tropes about the illegal immigration “problem”: he thinks all illegal immigrants are Mexican, and all Mexicans are violent, sociopathic drug lords.
That being said — could SB 1070 already be “working”, but in a manner harmful to Arizona’s economy? City officials around the country are joining Congressman Raul Grijalva in calling for an economic boycott of Arizona. And University of Arizona president Robert Shelton sent an email to the campus this morning, saying that campus police will enforce SB 1070 if the law comes into effect. But, Shelton also included the following paragraphs in his statement:
We have already begun to feel an impact from SB1070. The families of a number of out-of-state students (to date all of them honors students) have told us that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states. This should sadden anyone who cares about attracting the best and brightest students to Arizona.
Additionally, large numbers of UA students, faculty, staff and appointed professionals have expressed concerns that they or members of their families or their friends may now be subject to unwarranted detainment by police. Many of these individuals are from families that have been residents of Arizona for generations. While I am completely confident that no one need fear the way that UAPD will approach the application of this law, I nevertheless appreciate the anxiety that friends and colleagues are feeling. It is a concern and fear that no one should have to harbor.
If Shelton is correct (and there’s no reason to think he would be lying on this point), Arizona is already suffering a blow when it comes to attracting high-quality students to the state. For a state already suffering from enough brain drain that we rank last in the country when it comes to education, Arizona can ill-afford losing this kind of ground when it comes to academia. And we all know that poorer state-wide educatin leads to poorer state-wide economy and fewer jobs — something Arionza should know all too well since Arizona’s state government is virtually bankrupt.
So clearly, SB 1070 is already working — to drive another nail into Arizona’s coffin.
Personally I think Arizona’s new law is a great law. We all recognize that we need to allow a better path to citizenship, but since the state can’t grant the citizenship the only way we can protect ourselves is to enforce harsher penalties against all illegal immigrants. We can’t sort the good and the bad until the Federal government acts. Instead of protesting our actions people should be petitioning their congressmen to reform immigration laws. We just want to keep the criminals and drug dealers out of our state.
Until the Federal government steps up and modifies their laws to allow a reasonable number of immigrants to enter this country legally, we have no other choice but to start enforcing the laws. The intention of this law is to penalize the illegal criminals and while it will no doubtably spill over unfortunately to good people I don’t see any other option. Other than legalizing the drugs that are really the problem here. Drug trafficking is responsible for the increase crime not the illegals.
The governor contacted the obama administration 5 times…5 times…5 times…and go no response….no response….no response…no response.
I repeat, the governor of Arizona contacted the obimbo administration 5 times and got no response.
I don’t blame Arizona one bit…it is a mess down there…a war zone. Something has to be done and the feds won’t do it. Time is running out and hopefully this will be the catalyst to move things forward.
But obama, bush the third, says congress probably doesn’t have the stomach to take this issue on because they’ve been sooooo busy this year. What a bunch of b.s. Rest assured every other country in the world would addressing it. Why can’t we?
It isn’t “anti-immigration” It is anti-ILLEGAL ALIEN immigration.
Perhaps you endorse this:
LISA AMIN GULEZIAN, REPORTER: Allan, for the most part the event was peaceful, but just about an hour ago, three people were attacked and two others were arrested. The people who were assaulted were part of the Minutemen demonstration in favor of Arizona’s new immigration law.
They said a large group of immigrants’ rights supporters followed them to the BART station on Market Street and started punching and kicking them, and calling them names.
PARKER WILSON, BAY AREA ANARCHIST: They said we were racists, and that we were against them, and against their town, and against San Francisco, and what they were saying. They said we needed to get out and they called us racists, and that we need to go home. And then they just attacked my friends and me.