The City Council announced a resolution Wednesday calling for a boycott of the state of Arizona,a reaction to the recent law that allows police officers the right to ask residents to provide immigration documentation.
Two major potential targets for the boycott include U.S. Airways, which is based in Arizona, and Major League Baseball, which is holding its 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona.
The move was introduced by Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and co-sponsored by Council Members Margaret Chin, daniel Dromm, Robert Jackson, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Jumaane Williams, and the Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
"Clearly, the state government of Arizona does not care about human or constitutional rights, the racial profiling that will ensue from this legislation, protecting the public safety of their residents in the state by preventing immigrants from going to the police for fear of deportation, or the ramifications that setting a precedent like this could have across the nation," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.
"If they do not care about those things, the only way we can make them care is through the pocketbook.”
The Arizona law makes illegal immigration a crime in the state, and it requires police to question people about their immigration status if officers suspect they are in the U.S. illegally.
Constituents in Rodriguez's Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill district had approached the councilmember with concerns about the bill, which pushed Rodriguez into action.
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"Initially, this was something he felt strongly about," said Rodriguez's Chief of Staff, Angel Audiffred.
The Los Angeles City Council passed a similiar boycott Tuesday, which was backed by their mayor.
