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Immigration rallies drawing crowds to Phoenix

Posted: May 29, 2010 2:47 PM by JONATHAN J. COOPER - Associated Press
Updated: May 29, 2010 2:47 PM

PHOENIX (AP) - Organizers of a boycott of Arizona over the
state's new immigration law are suspending the boycott Saturday to
bus in people from across the country for a rally at the state
Capitol.
Supporters plan a rally of their own at a Tempe baseball
stadium, encouraging like-minded Americans to "buycott" Arizona
by planning vacations in the state.
The dueling events are expected to draw thousands. In San
Francisco, groups planned to protest at the Arizona Diamondbacks'
game against the Giants Saturday evening.
Critics of the law, set to take effect July 29, say it unfairly
targets Hispanics and could lead to racial profiling. Its
supporters say Arizona is trying to enforce immigration laws
because the federal government has failed to do so.
The law requires that police conducting traffic stops or
questioning people about possible legal violations ask them about
their immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that
they're in the country illegally. Reasonable suspicion is not
defined.
"Arizona has become the testing ground for the most draconian
and anti-immigrant legislation in the country," said Pablo
Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing
Network.
Some opponents of the law have encouraged people to cancel
conventions in the state and avoid doing business with
Arizona-based companies, hoping the economic pressure forces
lawmakers to repeal the law.
But Alfredo Gutierrez, chairman of the boycott committee of
Hispanic civil rights group Somos America, said the boycott doesn't
apply to people coming to resist the law. Opponents said they had
secured warehouse space for 5,000 people to sleep on cots instead
of staying in hotels.
They're calling on President Barack Obama to order immigration
authorities to refuse to take custody of illegal immigrants turned
over under Arizona's law.
Supporters of the law sought to counteract the economic damage
of boycotts by bringing supporters into the state.
"Arizona, we feel, is America's Alamo in the fight against
illegal and dangerous entry into the United States," said Gina
Loudon of St. Louis, who is organizing the "buycott." "Our
border guards and all of Arizona law enforcement are the
undermanned, under-gunned, taxed-to-the-limit front-line defenders
trying to hold back the invasion."
The law also makes it a state crime to be in the country
illegally or to impede traffic while hiring day laborers,
regardless of the worker's immigration status.
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(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)