Home / Buy Stuff / T-Shirts / Support Arizona:
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Posted on 07/03/2010 11:25:06 AM PDT by SandRat
Roughly 60 people, wearing flip-flops and toting water bottles and generating applause from a small group of onlookers, piled out of a coach bus in front of TownePlace Suites in the middle of the afternoon heat Friday.
"Thanks for coming and welcome to Arizona," said state Republican Rep. Vic Williams, shaking hands with the Texas tourists who have become the latest symbol in the fight over Arizona's immigration battle.
Saying they're countering the Arizona boycott by groups who say the state's controversial new immigration law will lead to racial profiling, the bus riders - plus a reported 60 others in a caravan meeting them in Tombstone - came armed with dollars to spend. Several wore T-shirts with "God Bless Arizona" on the front and "Texas supports you," on the back.
Tucsonan David DeNardo, a 63-year-old retired machinist, was on hand to greet the newcomers after seeing a mention of the "buycott" in the newspaper. As he waited for the tour group to arrive, DeNardo said he was disappointed in the turnout - largely just a handful of politicians, a few media outlets and the local Chamber of Commerce. "I had hoped there would be more Arizonans here to thank them," DeNardo said. "When people do good things, they ought to be told."
Arizona's new immigration law is set to take effect July 29. The law requires police to question those they have stopped for other reasons about their immigration status if there is "reasonable cause" to believe they are in this country illegally.
DeNardo said he didn't think SB 1070 was such a big deal - he has to show identification to rent a room at the hotel, for example. "The state had to do something because the federal government won't do anything," he said.
That was a common refrain among the travelers.
Ron Richardson, 60, came to the state in 2006 to support the Minuteman border watch movement. "I just feel that Arizona has a right to do this," said Richardson, a retired airlines worker who maintains illegal entrants "disrespect the U.S. by not coming here legally."
He brought with him a T-shirt he had specially made for Gov. Jan Brewer, reflecting a fence and the words, "If we build it, they won't come."
Nick Morris, a 15-year-old entering his junior year, had some brief notoriety in May when he was suspended from his Texas high school for taking down a Mexican flag at a Cinco de Mayo celebration and throwing it in the trash. Morris, who contradicted school officials by saying he was offended that the flag was higher than his home state's flag, landed on conservative firebrand Sean Hannity's show.
"I'm here to support Arizona and what they're doing," said Morris. Asked why immigration has him so concerned, he said he's worried about the impacts of the drug trade.
Inside, hotel desk clerk Lynette Gabriel pointed to a stack of 40 electronic room keys when asked about the group's impact. She was worried when she heard about potential boycotts earlier in the year, noting summer is already a slow season for the tourism industry here.
"Tourism is what keeps a hotel busy. If people don't come to visit, then they don't stay in hotels, and then people start losing their jobs," Gabriel said.
Craig Winfree, a 41-year-old Houston resident and Republican precinct committeeman, said he showed up because he wanted to support Arizona, but also wanted to get some political leverage in his home state as well. "1070 is what this is all about. I want (Gov. ) Rick Perry to realize how much support there is out there for similar laws."
State Rep. Williams shaved a day off a family trip to Southern California so he could be there to welcome the visitors. He said he had hoped to see other politicians on hand, even those who don't agree with the law he backed.
"We can agree to disagree about 1070 and its merits, but we should still be all on the same page about promoting Arizona," he said.
Jennifer Allen, the executive director of the Border Action Network, said the Houston event shouldn't buck up supporters: "One hundred people showing up seems pretty paltry in the bigger scheme, compared to the outpouring of support in opposition of the bill."
She said volunteers are gearing up "to ensure the Latino vote is active and engaged this election season and that there are consequences for politicians who disregarded the concern of the Latino community."
Allen said what the Houston arrivals overlook "is that there's actually a lot of agreement around the fact that our current immigration system is broken, but this law is simply not a solution in any way, shape or form. It makes community policing more difficult, it erodes trust from community members and it makes our state and our communities less safe for everyone."
Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at 573-4243 or rbodfield@azstarnet.com
AZ SB-1070 get support from Texas Ping
like most Dems this jennifer allen is a big LIAR when she said, “”One hundred people showing up seems pretty paltry in the bigger scheme, compared to the outpouring of support in opposition of the bill.”
I guess ms allen missed the MSNBC poll that showed 97.5% of respondents agree with SB 1070 and I guess ms allen missed the 70% of Arizonans who agree with the bill.
ms allen should learn saying something doesn’t make it so.
I am proud of those Texans who went. God Bless Texas
and Arizona
Amen!!
God Bless Arizona Tour
http://www.gbatour.com/
Home / Buy Stuff / T-Shirts / Support Arizona:
http://michaelberry.com/index.php/buy-stuff/t-shirts/support-arizona/
“Y’all got directions to the O.K. Corral?”
:-)
Good for my fellow Texans. But it’s sad they have to go to AZ to support the law because our governor doesn’t think the same law would be good for Texas.
On another note I was driving through AZ one August and stopped to get gas at a little station that had no A/C. I asked the attendent “What’s the tempature right now?”
He replied “About 116.”
I asked “When does it cool down?”
He said “December”.
Take I-10 West from Texas, exit onto AZ HWY 80 South to Tombstone. Find parking and walk around having a grand time. LOL
Ping!
Gracias, Texas. Y’all will do to ride the river with...
Allen knows exactly what she’s saying and she knows she’s lying. She’s speaking to her base; praying that she still has a job (community organizer) after November.
I’d love to see the Border Action Network disbanded.
Absolutely! From my front door - head for the mall, hang a left, go to Wal-Mart and hang a right, then 16 miles to Allen St. and downtown Tombstone.
Sandy is a mile or two closer than I.
Just barely 2 miles. LOL
About half-way down is Amendment 28.824.
"All law enforcement officers shall inquire into the citizenship and immigration status of any person under arrest for a violation of any state law or municipal ordinance, regardless of the person's national origin, ethnicity, or race. In all such cases where a person indicates that he or she is not a citizen or national of the United States, the law enforcement agent shall verify with the federal government whether the alien is lawfully or unlawfully present in the United States, under 8 U.S.C. 1373(c). If the alien is verified to be unlawfully present in the United States, the law enforcement officer shall cooperate with any request by federal immigration authorities to detain the alien or transfer the alien to the custody of the federal government."
If Missouri can "get away with it", why not Arizona?
LOL, you guys. Love ya!!!
:-)
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