Arizona Boycott Over Immigration Law Results in Canceled Conventions

By the way, has ANYONE read the Arizona law? Do you know that it specifically states that in any encounter with police, when a person produces a valid Arizona driver’s license (or, for non-drivers, other forms of ID listed in the law), that person is immediately presumed to be in the United States legally? Given all the situations listed above, can anyone argue that being asked to produce a driver’s license, if one is in some sort of encounter with police in which police are acting lawfully (that is also specified by the new law) is overly burdensome? Being asked to produce identification is a burden that falls on everyone.

That is simply a fact of life today. Many of the situations in which we are asked to produce ID are the result of laws passed by our representatives, Democrats and Republicans, that are, overall, good things. But they require Americans to produce their papers, in the form of a driver’s license, quite frequently. If Americans responded with “Go to hell” and “See you in court” each time they were asked to produce their license, both hell and court would be very crowded.

P.S. — All the discussion above relates to people who are American citizens. In addition to the situations requiring a driver’s license, some people might not know that since the 1940s, federal law has required non-citizens who are in the United States permanently to carry on their person, at all times, the official documents proving that they are here legally — green card, work visa, etc. That has been the law for 70 years, and the new Arizona law does not change it.

I am a naturalized citizen of the USA. I understand and agree illegal aliens should not be allowed to be in this country. They have broken the law. However, if I as a tax paying citizen even get an inkling of a notion that I am being treated differently or have to succumb to additional hurdles because I am latino, then I am not being equally protected under OUR constitution. So Arizona and its new law can go to H**.

Just cancelled my flight, car and hotel reservations for our one week vacation in Arizona. We will go to Utah instead. I cannot support a state that passes stupid rascist laws. Between immigration and the birth certificate proof, we do not want to visit that state and we certainly do not want to drop our dollars there.

mj, i think you are missing the point. it is not just about producing a driver’s license that many U.S. citizens carry around with them anyway. the point is, if i am here legally and you are asking me to produce proof of that based on the color of my skin or some other extremely biased/subjective criteria, that is a violation of my constitutional rights! and, what if i’m going for a run and didn’t bring my license? the new law REQUIRES police to inquire and react, which means i could go to jail simply from going for a run in the morning. WTF? it’s simply ridiculous. and regardless of the federal law you mention above, there is NO requirement that U.S. citizens always carry proof of citizenship around with them wherever they go 24/7, and the fact is many U.S. citizens will get questioned because of this law. Even an Arizona police chief believes this law is ridiculous and vows not to enforce it.

Vacation to Phoenix now is canceled. I agree to make changes on immigration law and secure the border, to have a more regulated and controlled immigration of workers. But what about the people that is living here and obey the law , that pay taxes, and have American children studying and being productive to the society and have more than 20 yrs. in the State ? Are they now ghosts? How long are they going to be ignored? There are millions like that in the Country. What about many of the Europeans that are here illegal , Is profiling illegal?

GO AZ!!

Misdirection from the left that this law allows police to “ask for your papers” based on race is just plain false propaganda. I LIVE in Phoenix and see the effects. You wouldn’t think its funny when you take your 90 y.o. mother to the emergency room and have to wait 4 hours because it is clogged with illegals who use our hospitals without being questioned – for free ( we pay).

We had a car accident last year, cost our health insurance $200k. Uninsured illegal alien – Police can’t find the car’s owner. We were 3 miles south of the Border on I-8 near Jacumba. Car pulled right in front of us from a dead stop, we were going 60. Police say most likely they were picking up an illegal (town of Jucumba – look it up). Driver at fault was medivacced in same copter with me – cost $20k. Her “papers” were not checked and now she has disappeared.

This is a real, practical problem, and all of your “ethics” about right & wrong are completely misguided. It amounts to ignoring the laws you don’t like, despite the fact they are there for a reason.

Until you have walked in my shoes don’t criticize us. Other states are going to follow – including Utah (already announced).

It’s unfair to legal immigrants who follow the proper route. And the argument that they do the jobs Americans won’t do – what out of work American doesn’t want a job? Those jobs should pay more and go to citizens. This system amounts to legal slavery under a different economic model. I would happily pay more for lettuce of it meant my kids were safe from drugs and kidnappings. Besides, figures show each citizen pays thousands in taxes & fees to support illegals on the dole, money that should go other places.

This a state problem, and if you don’t live here you really are being arrogant in telling us what we should be doing to protect our own families and welfare. Tell me where you live and tell you what I don’t like about your state.

And by the way – after that car accident(which was not our fault) my health insurance was cancelled, and no, the new health care bill does not help me restore it at all – at least for four years. By then I will have conventional insurance again.

I am just very tired of people who think their lofty ideals are going to solve real problems. Look at the real issues at hand and get over your egocentric judgemental acrimony, people. Thanks for listening.

Latinos are the best workers in the U.S., that means we should all be able to come here if we want

I don’t understand why a law is needed to enforce a law. I cannot go to another country and decide to stay and then just because I’ve been able to avoid being caught for a few years have a right to stay there. I’d be deported in a heartbeat. I have to show ID all the time now because of the illegal immigration situation. If I apply for a job I have to dig up a birth certificate, if I use a credit card I need my driver’s license. We all have to show ID to prove who we are. Come into this country legally. And we are all profiled in some way. I drive an older vehicle and get pulled over if an officer thinks I’m a kid. If I don’t dress well and am in certain stores, I get followed because they think I’m a shoplifter.

i totally agree with you johnnygirl. i always have my license with me but there are times when i dont bring it like when i go salt river tubing. or there are just times when i forget to bring my wallet! so what’s going to happen to me when i get questioned? i look latina, even if i’m not. are they going to put me to jail cause i forgot to bring my wallet? and if a white person forgets his/her license, i’m pretty sure he/she isnt going to jail. that’s racial profiling.arizona deserves all this boycott.

Also CARRIERANDAL, if you go to ANY other country, they have laws so potential immigrants can immigrate on an orderly manner. We don’t have that and that’s why we have 12 million illegal immigrants (NOT ALL OF THEM LATINOSBY THE WAY). So let’s get it right this time. A good way for you to understand immigration (just as an experiment) go to any country’s website like Canada for example and try to understand how to immigrate to that country as a Mexican citizen or Colombian, then try Argentina, or Australia. Then the tricky part. Try to immigrate to the US. The problem is that it is impossible! and by the way, if you find a way to do it, and you charge every illegal a buck to teach them you just made yourself 12 million dollars.

I agree with the first part of your statement but that doesn’t mean the second part is valid. Just becasue you want to come here does not mean we have to let you in. You will find all countries have similar immigration policies. Mexico has much harsher terms for immigrants than we do for instance. Plus if you immigrate to America you need to do it by the law. I do not support illegal immigrants. However the Arizona law 1070 is racist by targeting a certain ethnic group and violating the unreasonable search clause of the constitution. It is good if the people of Arizona suffer much from boycotts of such a bad law. Boycott Arizona until 1070 is repealed.

you need to read the law for one thing unless you are jogging with a tv under your arm the police are not going to worry about you if you are pulled over for any violation and cannot prove who you are you are held untill discovery that has been a law for a verry long time in most states

So what about the safety of the American citizens who live in Arizona ~ and everywhere else in the country for that matter? Why is there this outcry to protect the people in this country illegally? I just don’t understand Mr. Smith how you can sit there and think that we American citizens should forego our right to live in safety so that illegal immigrants can live, work and in more cases that I care to admit commit crime freely in our state? Clearly you don’t see the local AZ news. Perhaps you missed the story yesterday of the family of 5 illegal aliens who were kidnapped by two other illegal aliens and held for ransom. I wish our police force could focus on other crimes rather than wasting my tax money to combat these ongoing issues created by illegals. Did I mention that 400 million dollars per year of our tax money goes to pay for healthcare for people who are here illegally? I would sure love to see that be directed toward education or perhaps healthcare for US citizens. We can no longer sit by and watch our state be compromised by the actions of this illegal immigration. Perhaps your time might be better spent working with us toward a common National solution that will help all states rather than harming those of us who work hard each day and pay our taxes as American citizens and Arizona residents. This is not a “racist” law as you put it as it applies to everyone. All anyone needs is a drivers license or other form of ID – nothing else! Those who feel they are going to be targeted are likely the ones causing the problems. I would not go anywhere in Mexico without my passport or other ID. Why the double standard? I would think that perhaps we might be praised for trying to keep our State safe for people like you who might want to visit.

Boycott all you want, I support to new bill.

If someone breaks into your house and they are not caucasian, I bet you would just let them stay and take all the want because asking them to get out of your house would be racist. It’s not like breaking an entering or any other laws should apply to other races.

Mr vacation now cancelled? First, You know damn well you were not planning on going to Arizona in the first place- even still Arizona will not lose out on your measly tourist dollars.
second, boycotting AZ is not a solution to the local problem. If you have a problem with their policy gather up the locals and organize a protest or gather some signatures in protest. if not, stay back and let AZ handle their affairs. they dont need political intruders to intervenes in their affairs anyway. so if you want to boycott please do them a favor and stay away. trust me you will not be missed.

Third, Az is a pioneer in tackling this type of problem that has buckled their economy for many years. For decades they have asked for help to secure the borders to prevent illegal immigration and potential criminal/terrorists (who may or may not be from the country) and still they have the same problem. I applaud that they have finally decided to enforce the law because this is the only way you can wake up the sleepy heads in Washington and have them pay attention to this huge problem.

DO you have any other suggestion? well you should have spoken up.

same for you mr smith. Its so much better when not so many people crowd AZ so the real travelers can travel would have more breathing space and be in more relaxing mode without have to wait in long line and face traffic from tourists. Real travellers travel despite the economic turmoil and politcal events. we travel for the joy of travelling and experience new and different scenery. fake travellers boycott. So stay out, you are not welcome here.

Why did you cancel the vacation to Phoenix??? Because of this bill??? Don’t you know that many of the 200,000 Arizonanans that rely on the tourism industry for their livelyhood are latino? Are you for them or against them?

What the heck are you talking about “birth certificate proof”??? Have you even read the bill? If you don’t break any laws, you won’t get “hasseled” by the cops.
Racist law??? Really? Once again…have you not read the bill? It says, “ANY person who is arrested shall have the person’s immigration status determined before the person is released.” It doesn’t matter if you are light-skinned, dark-skinned, blue eyed or brown, blonde-brunette-or-redhead…if you break the laws here in AZ, your status will be verified…that is not racism.

You probably weren’t REALLY planning on coming here anyway.

Samuel, I’m a naturalized citizen with a Latino last name. Sounds to me like you have been influenced by the talking points and have not taken the time to read the bill yourself. I have, and I support it. Please take the time to read it before you keep putting your foot in your mouth with the whole “racist” bit.
Here’s a link to the bill that was signed:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/adopted/h.1070-se-maps.doc.htm

If there is anything racist in it…please let us know. Most of us Arizonans approve of it. The majority of Phoenix is of latino decent…70% of Phoenix residents approve of the bill. Racism comes from ignorance…so do allegations of racism in this case. Get educated, read the bill, and quit with the ignorant race-bating.

It is not and cannot be based on the color of your skin!!!! READ THE FREAKING BILL!!!!! It is less that 20 pages.

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/adopted/h.1070-se-maps.doc.htm

The law states, “Any person who is arrested shall have the person’s immigration status determined before the person is released. The person’s immigration status shall be verified with the federal government pursuant to 8 United States code section 1373(c).” Unless white people all of a sudden are NOT persons, this applies to them as well.

” i look latina, even if i’m not. are they going to put me to jail cause i forgot to bring my wallet?”

Police cars have computers with screens where they can pull up an image of your driver’s license with your picture on it in a matter of seconds. There is no need to fear-monger.

I live in Arizona and ask all lawabiding citizens to come and enjoy all we have to offer. A boycott will only hurt working families already suffering from the present economy. Who works in the hotels and restaurants? This is not just an Arizona problem; however, our elected officals have refused to address the problem and now this. Washington is aware now and all of a sudden elected officals want to chime in and pretend their on it. Go back and look at what the five most recent presidents have done or failed to do. I believe the American public deserves solutions. People who want to immigrate need a way to do so without corruption and be willing to wait their turn. Boycotting Arizona will not achieve this goal.

Way to go AZ. Our group is looking forward to our trip to your state. We are cutting out our trip to SF though. We need more tates to pass laws like this. We can’t have illeagals dictating our laws. We’ll boycott any city or state thats calling for a boycott of AZ. CA can kiss my A@*

I’m with you Arizona! It’s about time to take a stand and demand that our laws are upheld! Thanks for taking the first step for America! Our government sure won’t. I’ll see you in Arizona as I plan to make my vacation plans in your beautiful State.

I hate to break your bubble about being the best workers here in America!!. I’ve lived here all my life and I worked in many fields and picked fruit just to make it through high school and all of us kids would do it over again if we needed to. After graduation we got more education and worked hard to support our families. Like my dad told me. Never take handouts. If you can’t pay cash for something….do without! Nove of our family has EVER taken Welfare or any Government Handout. We would dig ditches first….

You may not know that since the 1940s, federal law (here in America) has required non-citizens who are in the United States permanently to carry on their person, at all times, (and this means no matter WHAT NATIONALITY you are,) the official documents prove that they are here legally — green card, work visa, etc. That has been the law for 70 years, and the new Arizona law does not change it. mj

Come on people we’re getting so uptight over the Arizona Law. Come on, Obama has yet to prove he’s a citizen.

Come on people we’re getting so uptight over the Arizona Law. Come on, Obama has yet to prove he’s a citizen.

You’re seriously going to boycott. And you think it’s going to make a difference. Sounds like a knee jerk reaction. You’ll put the hurt on a little guy who owns a small shop. And the lawmaker will never hear a word of what you’re saying. A better idea. Contact the jerks who voted for this…do all you can to get them canned.

Better yet, look into why this state felt they needed to find away to slow the flow of people drainng their resources. Sometimes It takes a struggle to make a change. By the way. Where are you from?

The U.S. tried boycotting aka sanctions in Iraq. And all we did was make allot of Iraqi’s hate us

You’re seriously going to boycott. And you think it’s going to make a difference. Sounds like a knee jerk reaction. You’ll put the hurt on a little guy who owns a small shop. And the lawmaker will never hear a word of what you’re saying. A better idea. Contact the jerks who voted for this…do all you can to get them canned.

Better yet, look into why this state felt they needed to find away to slow the flow of people drainng their resources. Sometimes It takes a struggle to make a change. By the way. Where are you from?

The U.S. tried boycotting aka sanctions in Iraq. And all we did was

The Arizona Law will not require racial profiling.

All we have to do is give a suspect a cell phone,
have it set to a preprogrammed number that asks the caller to push one for English.

If they push any other number…BUSTED

I spent over $10,000 visiting Arizona with my family for 2 of the last 3 years. We planned to go back next Spring, until that law passed. I would be fine with it if, when everytime a white grandma with her grandkids in back gets pulled over but forgot her license, she’s presumed to be an illegal immigrant from Canada, just like a legal Mexican-American grandma might be accused of being illegal from Mexico! (But, oh, think of the uproar THAT would cause! How unfair!) It’s hilarious how some Constitution-loving Americans don’t see the problem with this unfair law that won’t fix anything. Well, Arizona is about to get a lesson on how the free market works, straight from real Constitution-loving Americans. The boycott is on and growing! Oh, and to those who say it’ll only hurt the poor immigrant population, I’m sure those legal immigrants who’ve just lost a fundamental right will be more than willing to endure the hardship until their old employers can’t stand the shrinking revenues anymore and vote the bumbling officials out! I guess those owners should’ve thought with their brains before voting for officials who are more worried about keeping white votes than about actually building a thriving Arizona economy (look around – you NEED to embrace diversity or your economy will shrink away). Even a caveman could see that! Well, Arizona is about to get a lesson on how the free market works. Have fun dealing with all those laid-off LEGAL immigrants! Vote smarter next time! Hey, after all the other U.S. states stop doing business with you, maybe you’ll get lucky enough to be annexed by Mexico!!!

Signed, your wealthy 3rd generation Mexican-American from Minnesota!

I saw Jay Leno at Correspondent Dinner his best line was; “That was my favorite story (this year) Republicans and a Lesbian bondage club. It’s ironic, Republicans don’t want lesbian getting married but they do like watching them “tie the knot”. So I thought that was interesting.”

You can say the same about Tea Party, they say they respect the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence but they do not mind passing laws, through weak Governors (no one ever voted for this crazy) who only care about getting reelected on the backs of undocumented workers, that will not pass Constitution muster, just like Arizona’s House Bill 2779 from two years ago, keep passing them Arizona and the rest of us will continue to challenged them in the courts and you will lose again (and yes we will boycott you!). Their phony patriotism is sickening; they are just racists going by another name. We all know you are just itching to put a sheet on their head? Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. It appears that the Republican Party is only good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. The Republicans party will continue turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party (and their Confederacy appreciation roots) because they continue to allow a small portions (but very loud portion) of their party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to rule their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits and the crazy Birthers who have not learned that the way our courts work is that you get a competent lawyer, verifiable facts and present them to a judge, if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies, then, and only then, do you proceed to trial. The Birthers seem to be having a problem with their so called “facts”. Let’s face it no one will take the Birthers seriously until they win a case, but until then, you will continue to appear dumb, crazy or racist, or maybe all three. I heard that Orly Taitz now wants to investigate the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC), she wants to re-establish a family values party, that’s like saying that the Catholic Church cares about the welling being of children in their care, too late for that.

What about someone who breaks into your house, cleans it, mows your lawn, and takes care of your children?

Hi Bob, that is so true!!!!
GO ARIZONA.!!!!

I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.

I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!

Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.

Every country has laws that must be followed, our country is no different. Why is everyone asked to look the other way? Why are no Latino leaders saying that coming here illegally is wrong? Someone sneaks into North Korea or Iran they are jailed and it becomes an international incident. Someone sneaks into the United States and we are asked to protect their rights?

“All Men are created equal”! The founders had it right, when attempting to form a perfect union and they also knew that they were not there yet but knew we one day would get there. Lincoln moved us forward as did JFK and LBJ. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

It is my contention that this AZ law is not constitutional and will fail when challenged (unless they keep adding more amendments), pretty funny for a perfect law, now why hitch your wagon to this dead white elephant? I do not understand. “See You In Court”.

I am sick of people spewing out quotes from the U.S. constitution when we are talking about illegal aliens in this country. This is a ridiculous argument over laws that have been ignored and neglected for years and now that Arizona is enforcing them, people breaking the law are upset. If I were Canadian in this country and asked for my ID or “papers”, like in other countries, i would not be offended. Our govt has always been set up by those same “men of many nations” under the principle that the majority rules, otherwise why let the people vote at all? But you have to be an American citezen to vote, right Benito? I think these illegals “of many nations” are taking advantage of the US political system (politicians gathering votes) and using the soft bleeding heart folks to back them up. These soft bleeding heart folks will end up with their throats cut in the end when they are not needed anymore. If you are in this country illegally protesting US laws and refusing to follow them…thats illegal…most people go to jail (or in some countries just plain executed) for breaking the law. Living here and not paying taxes or insurance (esp healthcare) while legal citizens foot the bill is not going to work anymore. Americans (of all nationalities) are losing their jobs and benefits because of this. The rich are getting richer…the poor poorer…and the middle class worker that built this country is being destroyed by cheap labor. Diversity is great as long as everyone is working here legally and paying taxes. As far as Latino workers being the best…I know some. I also know some people from Irish, German, Native American (myself), African, etc… that bust their hump as well. These folks also require a good wage to do it as well…not bottom dollar. If this country continues down this path it will be no better than any other third world country with all the poverty, crime to go with it. Then and only then will immigration not be an issue because there won’t be a reason to come over here anymore.