Wise Law Blog: Arizona Immigration Boycot Gains Traction

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Arizona Immigration Boycot Gains Traction

New York Times reports on a fledgling movement that calls for an economic boycott of the State of Arizona in response to that State's sweeping and controversial immigration legislation, signed into law last week:

A spreading call for an economic boycott of Arizona after its adoption of a tough immigration law that opponents consider racially discriminatory worried business leaders on Monday and angered the governor.
Several immigrant advocates and civil rights groups, joined by members of the San Francisco government, said the state should pay economic consequences for the new law, which gives the police broad power to detain people they reasonably suspect are illegal immigrants and arrest them on state charges if they do not have legal status.
Critics say the law will lead to widespread ethnic and racial profiling and will be used to harass legal residents and Latino citizens.

The legislation:

Requires officials and agencies to reasonably attempt to determine the immigration status of a person involved in a lawful contact where reasonable suspicion exists regarding the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.

Stipulates that a law enforcement official or agency cannot solely consider race, color or national origin when implementing these provisions, except as permitted by the U.S. or Arizona Constitution.

Specifies that a person is presumed to be lawfully present if the person provides any of the following:

- A valid Arizona driver license.
- A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license.
- A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
- A valid federal, state or local government issued identification, if the issuing entity requires proof of legal presence before issuance.