SB1070 Update: News tidbits

by David Safier

There have been lots of bits and pieces of SB1070 news since I last compiled a list. Here are some of them.

• Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor went to DC to talk with Attorney General Eric Holder. "He joined nine other police chiefs from across the country to explain that SB 1070 will lead to illegal immigrants not cooperating with law enforcement when they are witnesses or victims of crime." (This story is from the Tucson Sentinel. The Star has posted a video of Villaseñor speaking after the meeting. Let's hope the story makes the Thursday paper.)
• When Russell Pearce heard about the police chiefs' meeting with Holder, "Pearce told ABC's Steven Portnoy that the chiefs work for 'open border anarchist mayors who refuse to enforce the law.'"
• "Tennessee's House of Representatives approved a resolution that congratulates Arizona for passing the illegal immigration law."
• 17 states are looking at introducing bills similar to SB1070.
• Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is "under 24/7 [police] surveillance after he received several specific death threats in response to his vocal opposition of Arizona's strict new immigration-enforcement law."
• "The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) announced this week that they were moving their national conference of managers out of Arizona because of the state's new controversial immigration law, SB1070. The conference had been scheduled for Tucson, Arizona in January 2011."
• Speaking to the Tucson City Council, "The Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau says 7 conventions interested in the city of Tucson have pulled out." The group is worried about a lowered rate of visitors and shoppers from Mexico. It estimated "22 million visitors come to Arizona every year from Mexico, making up five percent of sales taxes in Pima County."
• The American Anthropological Association has condemned SB1070 and will not hold conferences in Arizona.
• A CNN poll says 57% of Americans support SB1070, and 80% support a path to citizenship for Illegal aliens.
• "Los Angeles plans to provide incentives to Arizona businesses wishing to relocate in the wake of the new immigration law."
• You can "Buy A Line in the Sand: A Compilation of SB 1070 Protest Songs" from the Phoenix New Times. I haven't listened to it, so this isn't a recommendation. But I will recommend the New Times' coverage of news and issues surrounding SB1070. It is one of the most consistent sources of news about the law.