Demonstrators march through lower Manhattan to protest Arizona's
controversial new immigration law during a rally in New York,
Saturday, May 1, 2010. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Employees of the City of Boulder will no longer be traveling to Arizona for business, City Manager Jane Brautigam announced today, as a show of the city's opposition to the recent immigration legislation passed in that state.
The controversial Arizona Senate Bill 1070 has sparked protests across the country and in Colorado. The bill gives law enforcement expansive powers in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Supporters say the new law provides local law enforcement with much-needed tools to enforce current laws. Immigrant-rights groups, including the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), say the measure unfairly targets minorities and encourages racial profiling. The CIRC website points out:
This law requires police verify the immigration status of anyone they have reasonable suspicion is undocumented and arrest anyone who can't immediately prove their status. Yet there are no outwardly distinguishable differences between an undocumented immigrant and a citizen, requiring police use racial profiling to draw their conclusions."
Some of these concerns were addressed with Arizona's House Bill 2162, passed within a week of SB 1070, which stated that law enforcement officers "may not consider race, color or national origin" when enforcing the law.
Both supporters and opponents of the legislation have complained about the ambiguous language in the bill, leading to questions about how to enforce it. The controversy has certainly reignited the debate about immigration in this country, and liberal Boulder was quick to show which side of the issue it is on. City Manager Brautigam says of the bill: “Such a policy is contrary to
It is unknown what the effect, if any, of Boulder's boycott will have on Arizona's tourism industry, but Boulder is one of many U.S. cities imposing a travel boycott. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, called for an end to the "counterproductive" boycotts which "hold[s] an industry and its 300,000 employees hostage to politics." For those embroiled in the immigration debate, "hostage to politics" seems an appropriate term.
Comments
nanny nanny billy goat
Boulder loves illegals. It's a sanctuary city for illegals...like Denver. Boulder does not follow the rule of law in reguards to illegal immigration. The town is a sespool of marxist, communists, socialists. I Boycott Boulder
Boulder rocks!
Kudos to Boulder!
I Boycott Boulder. The registered voters and tax paying citizens of Boulder should all email the city counsel and the city manager to let them know that they do not represent their constituents. The law gives police the tools to enforce already existing federal laws and the city manager, if she's going to boycott something needs to read the law and understand it. Who else will boycott those who boycott arizona with me?
Gee, the fact that Boulder, Colorado is becoming the fastest-growing region to attract high-paying jobs, seems to indicate that Boulder's policies are right. nytimes.com/2010/05/14/business/14boulder.html?src=me&ref=general
Arizona should enact policies to attract employers who could pay Arizonans well instead of policies that make us a national laughingstock (while also making everyone else here worse off). Public officials in Arizona enjoy a high salary and VERY comfortable benefits (health, dental, vision all taken care of, 4 weeks PAID time off). It's time to create these kinds of jobs to the citizens of Arizona, not drive away these types of employers.
Anyone who doesn't recognize what Arizona public officials are doing to us, deserves a low paying job and high cost of goods.
Boulder needs to stay focus on it own states problems - like better education for our kids. What are we ranked? AZ can't afford to keep accepting more kids in their schools and not receive any tax money from illigals. AZ is just following the law. We need to know who is coming into the United States!
Arizona abandoned the constitution now they systematically deny citizens witnesses in courts (due process) in a case filled for review in the States Supreme Court yesterday...
The case stems from a red light ticket trial were Sheriff Babeu an Judge Keegan were subpoenaed, to destroy Tucson's claim that camera ticketing was lawful, the city denied these witnesses to evade such a crushing blow and in doing so they violated the plaintiffs due process rights. On appeal the Superior Court ignored the issue and when raised to the Arizona Appeals Court Div,2 they side stepped the matter by dismissing the case. Read the whole petition or the Appeals Court brief at the attached link. With the spot light on AZ your readers should know about this stuff.
Az Supreme Court Review scribd.com
Apparently the Denver Public School System has also implemented a boycott on official travel to Arizona, so it's not just us wacky commie Boulderites. But then you knew that, because many cities around the US consider human rights and the Constitution important enough to take a stand against a state who thinks they don't matter in the case of people who look hispanic.
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