SF leaders react to 'horrendous' Arizona law

Several San Francisco supervisors are backing a resolution that calls for a boycott of the state of Arizona and Arizona based-businesses after Governor Jan Brewer signed a controversial immigration bill last week.

The San Francisco resolution, introduced by openly gay Supervisor David Campos on Tuesday, April 27, says Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 "will inevitably lead to racial profiling of people of color and limited English proficient persons."

Campos said it's important for LGBTs and everyone else to be concerned about the Arizona law, which is also stirring up opposition from elected officials around the state and across the country.

"We in the LGBT community know what it's like to be the target of discrimination, and we have to stand firmly in support of other groups that are also impacted by discrimination," said Campos. "I think that's the only way all of us collectively are going to have full rights and full equality, if we make a point of standing together when one group is targeted."

Among other provisions, the Arizona legislation encourages law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally. Known as the "papers, please" law, it effectively requires legal immigrants to carry papers wherever they go in order to avoid arrest and detention. Critics of the bill said that it would result in racial profiling of Hispanic residents of the state.

When something as "horrendous" as the Arizona law comes up, Campos said it's important "for people of good conscience in other parts of the country to speak up."

Campos said San Francisco may not have a lot of business with Arizona, but "if enough jurisdictions do the same thing, [Arizona] will feel the impact of the law they passed."

Co-sponsors of the resolution include openly gay Supervisor Bevan Dufty.

Among other provisions, the resolution says that unless Arizona rescinds SB 1070, the board urges city departments "to the extent practicable, and in instances where there is no significant additional cost to the city nor conflict with the law, to refrain from entering into any new or amended contracts to purchase goods or services from any company that is headquartered in Arizona."

Brewer signed the immigration bill Friday, April 23.

In an e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter , Paul Senseman, Brewer's deputy chief of staff-communications, wrote that if San Francisco supervisors "believe the new Arizona law is inappropriate then they need to direct their anger at the federal government, because the new Arizona law simply regulates and enforces immigration law the same way the federal law and federal authorities currently regulate, and have regulated for decades. Racial profiling is specifically written in the law to be illegal. No additional documents are needed for anyone, other than what federal law currently requires."

Other elected officials weigh in

The San Francisco resolution follows a Monday, April 26 statement from City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office pledging full support of his office to audit and pursue termination of city contracts with Arizona governments and businesses.

The statement said Herrera was offering the services of his office's contracts, government litigation and investigations teams to work with city departments and commissions "to identify applicable contracts and to aggressively pursue termination wherever legally tenable." He also offered the assistance of his office's attorneys in any legal challenges to the Arizona law.

Herrera told the B.A.R. it's important to consider the leadership San Francisco has always taken to prevent discrimination. He also noted that California borders Arizona, and there are people who go back and forth between the two states.

They should not be subject to Arizona's new law, he said, referring to the policy as "draconian" and "discriminatory."

Herrera recalled that Arizona had in the past not recognized the federal holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. for many years.

"I think all of us should be concerned when we see a repeated pattern of discrimination against politically disfavored groups in Arizona," said Herrera.

Also on Tuesday, Mayor Gavin Newsom imposed an immediate moratorium on city employee travel to Arizona for official business as he and other leaders consider an official city boycott of the state.

In a statement, Newsom also announced the convening of an Arizona boycott workgroup, to be chaired by Steve Kawa, his openly gay chief of staff. The workgroup will include Treasurer Jose Cisneros, who's gay; Human Rights Commission Executive Director Theresa Sparks, who's transgender; and representatives from Herrera's office, among others.

The workgroup will analyze the impacts and extent of an Arizona boycott on city contracts and purchasing and make recommendations for "a smart and effective Arizona boycott," the statement said.

"We stand together as San Franciscans and Californians in condemning Arizona's punitive anti-immigrant law, and we are united in our determination to see the law repealed in Arizona and comprehensive federal immigration reform passed in Washington," Newsom said in the statement.

Newsom's travel ban excludes essential travel related to law enforcement, public health or safety.

In a meeting with the B.A.R. last week to discuss her candidacy for state attorney general, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris also expressed opposition to the Arizona legislation. For one thing, she said it could put police "in a position where they're perceived as the enemy."

However, Harris emphasized she's "absolutely in support of anyone who commits a crime being arrested and prosecuted."

At the state level, Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) submitted a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday calling on the governor to help examine contracts between the state and any businesses or governments in Arizona.

"I would like for our respective legal staffs to work together to determine whether we can legally break any of our existing contracts, and also ensure that no new contracts are negotiated until Arizona's law is effectively repealed," Steinberg said in his letter.

"I have serious doubts that Arizona's new law is constitutional, but it could take months or years for a final resolution of this question in the courts," Steinberg acknowledged to the governor.

However, he wrote, "I think we have a moral obligation to deliver an unequivocal message to lawmakers in Arizona that California does not condone its conduct."

Schwarzenegger's office did not provide comment by press time.