Controversy surrounding new Arizona legislation




A group of protesters against the recently passed legislation.


In the May 6th CNN article, "Latino rights groups, others call for Arizona boycott," many groups are furious with the recently passed legislation in Arizona that is set to go into effect this summer. Many believe this law is opening the door for racism, and are against the fact that it allows law enforcement to ask anyone for their papers. The city councils said they are going to take action to stop this law due to "concerns over enforcement costs and negative effects on Arizona's tourism industry." Even the famous Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes ventured to say that Arizona has "officially declared itself racist." This article states the Arizona legislators say that they passed the law due to a failure by the federal government in keeping illegal citizens outside of the border, which allowed more than 450,000 undocumented immigrants to settle in the state.

Arizona passing its own version of an immigration law is an example of federalism. Because the state felt that the national government was not doing enough to restrict immigration, it exercised its right to create a law specific to its citizens. The National Council of La Raza, a national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, along with other organizations have called for a boycott "asking others to consider whether their purchases of goods and services might perpetuate the unjust and discriminatory law in Arizona”. By calling for this boycott and by holding demonstrations in the streets of Arizona, the organizations and citizens are exercising their right to freedom of speech.



Photo Credit: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/06/arizona.immigration.boycott/index.html

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By: Sarah G. and Chris D.