Calls to boycott Arizona over immigration law divide Democrats

Calls for an economic boycott of Arizona are dividing
Democrats, who disagree on the best strategy to fight Arizona’s restrictive
immigration law.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) began pushing for a limited
boycott of his home state even before Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law,
arguing that economic sanctions have historically been an effective means of
protest, particularly in Arizona.

{mosads}He recalled the outrage over Arizona’s decision not to
recognize the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the early 1990s, which led the
NFL – under pressure from its players – to move the 1993 Super Bowl from
Phoenix to Los Angeles. In 1992, two years after the NFL’s decision, Arizona
voters approved a measure to recognize the King holiday.

Grijalva’s boycott call has been joined by Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa (D), and several city legislatures are considering
resolutions supporting economic sanctions, including L.A., San Francisco, New
York and the District of Columbia.

“We need to explore all of our opportunities and avenues” to
fight the law, said Christine Quinn (D), the speaker of the New York City
Council. She said she would support a boycott of Arizona if it could fix a law
that she called “unacceptable and un-American.” 

Legislation to reform the nation’s immigration laws and
provide a path to citizenship for the country’s illegal immigrants has picked
up steam since the Arizona law was signed.

But national groups advocating that approach have not taken
up the boycott call, and other Democratic leaders have said the move against
Arizona’s economy would be a step too far.

“I don’t think that boycotts or things of that nature really
help. They just polarize people,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on
Thursday. She was responding to a question asking if she supported a resolution
in San Francisco calling for the city to boycott companies that do business in
Arizona. “I do not think that is a smart thing to do,” said Feinstein, a former
mayor of San Francisco.

A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Bingaman of neighboring New Mexico
said the senator believed a boycott decision was up to others, but “welcomes”
the tourists and businesses that “no longer feel comfortable going to Arizona.”

Critics of Arizona’s law say its requirement that
authorities confront individuals they suspect of being illegal immigrants
amounts to racial profiling. Supporters argue it’s a necessary step to crack
down on illegal immigration in the absence of a sufficient federal presence on
the border.

Tens of thousands of activists are planning to rally in 80
cities across the country Saturday, calling for comprehensive immigration
legislation as well as denouncing Arizona’s new law.

While Democrats nationwide have criticized the law, a
consensus has yet to emerge about how to respond to it.

The Obama administration is considering suing the state to
block enforcement. Another proposal gaining steam is for Major League Baseball
to abandon plans to hold the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix, an effort
spearheaded by Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.).

Seizing on the Super Bowl incident, Serrano said in a
statement that the MLB “has a very loud megaphone, and their rejection of
Arizona’s action would be an important demonstration to Arizona that we do not
tolerate such displays of intolerance in our nation.”

The issue has particular resonance in baseball, where nearly
a third of the players hail from foreign countries.

The MLB Players Association released a statement on Friday
calling for the Arizona law to be repealed or modified. The law “could have a
negative impact on hundreds of Major League players who are citizens of
countries other than the United States,” union executive director Michael
Weiner said in a statement.

He did not mention the All-Star Game, but he said that if
the law takes effect, the union “will consider additional steps necessary to
protect the rights and interests of our members.”

Democrats in Arizona also disagree over the boycott call.

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) released a statement
criticizing threats made against Grijalva over the issue, but she pointedly
disagreed with his position.

“I believe that a boycott would hurt Arizona’s families and
businesses at a time when our state’s economy is taking the first steps toward
recovery after a devastating recession,” Giffords said.

The National Council of La Raza, which supports granting a
pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, is discussing the idea of a
boycott with its members and partner groups, said Clarissa Martinez, its
director of immigration and national campaigns. “A boycott is not something we
take lightly,” Martinez said, while emphasizing that the group believes the
Arizona law “goes beyond the pale.”

In Arizona, the focus was on the events Saturday, where clergy
from across the state are planning a vigil at the state capitol to protest the
law. The message of the day will not be a boycott, said Ian Danley, a youth
pastor with Neighborhood Ministries who is helping to organize the event.

“Personally, I think those things are a little further down
the road than we are now,” he said.

Yet Danley said a boycott might ultimately be the most
effective form of protest. “I wish we could talk to people’s hearts,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s faster to go through their pocketbooks.”