California May Boycott Arizona

The speaker of the California Senate yesterday asked the Governator to "tear up" any contracts between the state and Arizona as calls for a boycott continue to swell.

In another swipe at Arizona and its strict new anti-immigration rules, California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg on Tuesday asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to "deliver an unequivocal message" of disgust by tearing up the state's contracts with Arizona businesses and government agencies. Arizona's new law, which allows police to demand identification from anyone reasonably believed to be an undocumented immigrant, has spawned a maelstrom of emotions since its approval last week — from quiet applause from those who support the crackdown to protests and boycott shouts, including San Francisco's move Tuesday to ban city workers from traveling to the state on official business. Steinberg, in a withering letter to the governor, called the new rules "unconscionable" and a recipe for "racial profiling." Noting energy agreements with Arizona as well as deals to send the state California's overflow prisoners, he urged Schwarzenegger to take action. "The state of California should not be using taxpayer dollars to support such a policy," the Sacramento Democrat wrote.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are considering boycotts of their own.