page_title: Arizona SB 1070
section_title: Boycotts
hierarchical_section_title: Arizona SB 1070 / Reaction / Boycotts
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the Phoenix Convention Center on 3rd Street looking South.
context_page_description: The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act is a 2010 legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that at the time of passage in 2010 was the broadest and strictest anti–illegal immigration measure passed in the United States. It has received international attention and has spurred considerable controversy.
  U.S. Federal law requires aliens older than 18 to possess any certificate of alien registration issued to him or her at all times; violation of this requirement is a federal misdemeanor crime. The Arizona act additionally made it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents, and required that state law enforcement officers attempt to determine an individual's immigration status during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest" when there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is an illegal immigrant. The law barred state or local officials or agencies from restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws, and imposed penalties on those sheltering, hiring and transporting unregistered aliens. The paragraph on intent in the legislation says it embodies an "attrition through enforcement" doctrine.
context_section_description: Boycotts of Arizona were organized in response to SB 1070, with resolutions by city governments being among the first to materialize. The government of San Francisco, the Los Angeles City Council, and city officials in Oakland, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Denver, and Seattle all took specific action, usually by banning some of their employees from work-related travel to Arizona or by limiting city business done with companies headquartered in Arizona.
  In an attempt to push back against the Los Angeles City Council's action, which was valued at $56 million, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce sent a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, suggesting that he'd "be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so that Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation."  Such a move was infeasible for reasons of ownership and governance, and Pierce later stated that he was not making a literal threat to cut power to the city.
  U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva, from Arizona's 7th congressional district, had been the first prominent officeholder to call for an economic boycott of his state, by industries from manufacturing to tourism, in response to SB 1070. His call was echoed by La Opinión, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper.  Calls for various kinds of boycotts were also spread through social media sites, and there were reports of individuals or groups changing their plans or activities in protest of the law.  The prospect of an adverse economic impact made Arizonan business leaders and groups nervous, and Phoenix officials estimated that the city could lose up to $90 million in hotel and convention business over the next five years due to the controversy over the law. Phoenix Mayor Gordon urged people not to punish the entire state as a consequence.
  Major organizations opposing the law, such as the National Council of La Raza, refrained from initially supporting a boycott, knowing that such actions are difficult to execute successfully and even if done cause broad economic suffering, including among the people they are supporting.  Arizona did have a past case of a large-scale boycott during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it lost many conventions and several hundred million dollars in revenues after Governor Evan Mecham's cancellation of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day state holiday and a subsequent failed initial referendum to restore it.  La Raza subsequently switched its position regarding SB 1070 and became one of the leaders of the boycott effort.
  The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce opposed both the law and the idea of boycotting, saying the latter would only hurt small businesses and the state's economy, which was already badly damaged by the collapse of real estate prices and the late-2000s recession.  Other state business groups opposed a boycott for the same reasons.  Religious groups opposed to the law split on whether a boycott was advisable, with Bishop Carcaño saying one "would only extend our recession by three to five years and hit those who are poorest among us."  Representative Grijalva said he wanted to keep a boycott restricted to conferences and conventions and only for a limited time: "The idea is to send a message, not grind down the state economy."   Governor Brewer said that she was disappointed and surprised at the proposed boycotts – "How could further punishing families and businesses, large and small, be a solution viewed as constructive?" – but said that the state would not back away from the law.  President Obama took no position on the matter, saying, "I'm the president of the United States, I don't endorse boycotts or not endorse boycotts. That's something that private citizens can make a decision about."
  Sports-related boycotts were proposed as well.  U.S. Congressman from New York José Serrano asked baseball commissioner Bud Selig to move the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game from Chase Field in Phoenix.  The manager of the Chicago White Sox, Ozzie Guillén, stated that he would boycott that game "as 
caption: Arizona's convention business, such as here at the Phoenix Convention Center, was a prime target of boycott efforts.
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