Congressman Raul Grijalva warns of an economic boycott against Arizona if SB 1070 becomes law

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Congressman Raúl Grijalva took to the cable talk shows yesterday to warn of an economic boycott against the state of Arizona if the Accidental Governor signs SB 1070 into law.

Arizona has been down this road before. In November 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the federal law making the third Monday in January a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bills introduced in the Arizona Legislature never made it out of committee. In May 1986, Governor Bruce Babbitt signed Executive Order 86-5 designating the third Monday in January as a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But in January 1987, Governor Evan Mecham rescinded that Executive Order with Executive Order 87-3, saying the authority to declare holidays lies with the legislature, not the executive. Once again, bills introduced in the Arizona Legislature never made it out of committee. Governor Mecham in June 1987 instead issued a "Proclamation" declaring the third Sunday in January to be "Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Day" in Arizona.

In 1990, Arizona voters rejected Propositions 301 and 302, both of which would have made Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a paid holiday in Arizona.

Between 1987 and 1992 there was an economic boycott of the state of Arizona. The state lost 166 conventions and the NFL protested by moving Superbowl XXVII from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to California. Arizona Scandals The effects of the economic boycott got the Arizona Legislature's attention. The Legislature referred Prop. 300 to the ballot in 1992 to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid state holiday, and voters finally approved. Voters got what they really wanted — Superbowl XXX on January 28, 1996. Racism in Arizona did not magically come to an end with the approval of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Congressman Grijalva appeared on MSNBC's The Ed Show with Ed Schultz yesterday and had this to say:

GRIJALVA: I think the response needs to be, in Arizona, to punish the people that are part of it and to support the people that are opposed to it. But beyond that, I think part of the national — you have to nationalize this issue. And I think Arizona deserves not — national organizations, conventions, Super Bowls — they need to not be part of doing business with Arizona until they take away this very racist, discriminatory, unconstitutional agenda away from Arizona.

* * *

GRIJALVA: Well, I want to — I want to impact an economic sanction based on the unconstitutionality of it, the discriminatory practice, and the fact that Arizona is taking this back to some dark age in this country that we don‘t belong. And certainly you don‘t want it to be a model for the rest of the country.

I wanted to embed the video, but the embed code is incorrect. Here is the link to the video http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36676174#36676174

Transcript Tuesday, April 20th – The Ed Show.

Congressman Grijalva later appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann (interview begins at 2:21 count) and had this to say:

GRIJALVA: It is — we are codifying into law — if the governor signs this — racial profiling, discrimination under the Constitution. We‘re codifying the fact that law enforcement now has a free hand to stop anybody that looks the part in terms of undocumented people, ask them for verification.

It‘s unprecedented. It is a horrible, horrible precedent for the nation. And it—and we can‘t allow it to continue as though there are no consequences.

And the consequences that we can only bring up right now is economic sanctions. We‘re asking organizations, civic, religious, labor, Latino organizations of color to refrain from using Arizona as a convention site, to refrain from spending their dollars in the state of Arizona until Arizona turns the clock forward instead of backwards and joins the rest of the Union.

* * *

And I—well, I hope that the governor uses her veto discretion to stop this bill. I‘m not optimistic and I think this fight is going to be both legal, political and economic.

Transcript Tuesday, April 20th – Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

The Arizona Daily Star reported today 200+ gather to push for immigration bill's veto: 

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., urged Brewer to veto the "unconstitutional anti-immigrant bill," saying that not doing so would result in severe economic penalties for the state.

He called on national organizations to boycott Arizona as a convention destination unless the bill is vetoed. He noted that a Super Bowl ban by the NFL Players' Association after the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day was effective in changing the policy in 1993.

The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale is looking to attract another Super Bowl and the city of Phoenix is a finalist of the 2012 Republican National Convention. Now wouldn't that pose an interesting conundrum?

Update: Press Release from Congressman Grijalva's office:

Grijalva Calls on Arizona Gov. Brewer to Veto Unconstitutional Anti-Immigrant Bill Before State Is Sanctioned

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today called on Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the unconstitutional anti-immigrant bill recently passed by the state legislature, emphasizing that failure to do so will result in severe economic penalties for the state.

The bill, SB 1070, forces police to stop and question anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, including a demand for papers verifying U.S. citizenship. The language contradicts the long-held legal principle that only the federal government establishes immigration policy. Authored by state Sen. Russell Pearce, the bill has been denounced by religious, civil rights, immigrant and Hispanic organizations around the country before even coming to the governor’s desk.

“This bill will be rejected by the courts, and in the meantime, Arizonans will be subjected to unnecessary indignity at the hands of a racist law,” Grijalva said. “I cannot stress enough the scale of the damage Arizona’s prestige and credibility will suffer if this bill is finalized.”

Grijalva called on national organizations of all kinds to reject Arizona as a convention destination unless the bill is vetoed. A Super Bowl ban by the National Football League Players Association after the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. day was effective in changing the policy in 1993.

“If the state follows through with this, the cost will be high,” Grijalva said. “This bill is not a serious approach to the immigration issue. This is grandstanding at taxpayer expense. Turning every police officer in the state into a roving immigration official, armed with a racial profiling mandate, is un-American on its face and cannot withstand even casual legal scrutiny.”