PENINSULA POLL BACKGROUNDER: Seattle City Council votes for Arizona boycott; Tacoma next?
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The City Council voted Monday to boycott Arizona as much as possible in response to that state’s sweeping immigration law.
Seattle joins a number of other cities in the boycott movement.
The Seattle Times reported that the resolution, which passed 7-0 with two members absent, won’t have much practical effect.
It was written to protect the only substantial contract Seattle has with an Arizona company. That’s a $106,000-a-month pact with American Traffic Solutions, which operates the city’s 29 red-light cameras.
The Tacoma City Council will consider a similar boycott-style resolution today.
Several city and regional governments in California — including Los Angeles and Berkeley city councils — have also voted to boycott Arizona, and a similar boycott has been urged in New Mexico.
Key provisions of the Arizona law include requiring police enforcing other laws to verify a person’s immigration status if there’s “reasonable suspicion” of illegal presence in the United States. It also makes being in the country illegally a state crime and prohibits seeking day-labor work at roadside. It is due to take effect in late July.
