Neighboring states and cities have called for an outright boycott of Arizona.The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution 13-1 which will prevent the city from doing any business with Arizona. There even was pressure on the LA Lakers to refuse to play the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoff series.
San Francisco is also considering boycotting Arizona and signing a similar resolution as the Los Angeles City Council. In fact, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in against Arizona's Immigration law when he quipped at a commencement ceremony "I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend. But with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me."
Other cities, including Milwaukee, Austin, West Hollywood, Boston, Oakland, St. Paul, Washington, D.C., Boulder, and New York City are currently deciding whether to follow Los Angeles's lead and boycott Arizona as well. Bob Menendez, a Senator from New Jersey, is even calling on Major League Baseball to remove the 2011 All star game from Phoenix where it is now scheduled to take place.
Incredulously, Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Los Angeles city councilman Paul Koretz compared the Arizona law to the Nazi oppression during the Holocaust. Jewish groups are on record fiercely contesting such a comparison.
The criticism leveled against Arizona is unwarranted.
Jan Brewer, like all Governors, has a responsibility to protect her citizens from harmful actions by other individuals which is why she signed into law a Bill which is designed to address a growing problem of crime in Arizona committed by illegal aliens. In explaining her reasoning for signing the Bill, Brewer told Fox News "we've been inundated with criminal activity. It's just -- it's been outrageous."
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Threat Assessment, there were 267 kidnappings committed by illegal aliens in Arizona in 2009 and 299 in 2008. These are astounding numbers which do not take into account the number of murders and burglaries that are also committed by illegal aliens.
The boycott of Arizona could cost the city of Phoenix an estimated 90 million dollars in lost revenue over the next five years.
Los Angeles and other cities who are boycotting Arizona are overstepping their boundaries by penalizing a neighboring state for taking action to address a serious issue affecting its citizens.
Furthermore, American drivers of all national origins are already required to present their driver's license to a police officer making a traffic stop. Why should an individual that is stopped legitimately by a police officer be exempt from showing documentation of legal status like a driver's license or green card as all Americans are required to do so when summoned by a police officer?
This law does not sanction racial profiling nor does it encourage police officers to harass individuals because of their Hispanic heritage. Police officers are only permitted to ask individuals for their papers once they are already suspected of committing a crime non related to their suspected status of being an illegal alien. Only then can they be deported if 'reasonable suspicion' exists. The law was simply created for the nonracial purpose of eradicating a growing problem of crime committed by illegal aliens.
If the LAPD and the San Francisco Police Department want to send their kidnapping units over to Arizona to help the Phoenix police crack down on crime commited by illegal aliens, I am sure that Governor Brewer would support repealing the Immigration Bill.
Until then, everyone should back off of Arizona.
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