You Made Your Bed Arizona, Now Lie In It...

I'm hoping this boycott will seriously hurt the state's economy to help demonstrate that there are consequences to be faced when you pass laws like AZ did on immigration. The measure was "designed by Republican sponsors to drive the state's illegal immigrants, the majority of them from Mexico, back to their home country." Recall that this is also the state that refused to recognize the MLK holiday until 1992.

"...six organizations had canceled conventions in the state, including the 11,000-member Immigration Lawyers Association, which had planned to hold its annual fall meeting in Scottsdale."

It will be interesting to see how long a court challenge takes to emerge and how it fares in the courts. This is racial scapegoating at its best and is nothing new in American or any country's history, but it's as repugnant, ignorant, and short-sighted as any previous jingo-istic measures or eras. This sort of belligerent, nationalistic outburst does not speak well of you, Arizona. (In fairness, it needs to be acknowledged that many Arizonans oppose this idea. Just not a majority. There are also Republicans from states with large Hispanic populations that are expressing concerns, including the Tea Party darling of Florida, Rubio.)
- posted by john @ 10:08 AM