POSTED: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 4:39pm
UPDATED: Monday, May 3, 2010 - 10:12am
EL PASO--- Some El Pasoans aren't taking Arizona's new immigration law lightly.
Local organizations, and even governments, are standing up in protest.
In the offices at city hall, the city attorney is already drafting a resolution to be voted on by council members, said Mayor John Cook. He says it will detailing their disapproval of a law some call unconstitutional.
In the resolution, council members will vote to say whether they believe the arizona law, which allows local law enforcement to ask for citizenship documents, encourages racial profiling, said Cook.
The City may call for their own boycott by prohibiting travel and doing business in Arizona, similar to a resolution passed by the City of Los Angeles.
It's good news to "Boycott Arizona" leader Jaime Abeytia.
"We've got the support of hundreds of people here in El Paso, and with the city and the county of El Paso considering resolutions to boycott Arizona, we're confident that number is going to rise," he said.
The group has begun their boycott against businesses like Peter Piper Pizza, Circle K and Cold Stone Creamery; all based in Arizona.
"We want to bring...economic pressure upon these businesses, so that they'll turn around and put political pressure on the state of Arizona to make an effective change on that legislation," said Abeytia.
The owner at the Cold Stone Creamery, 7040 N. Mesa, said people are coming in just to say they're boycotting his store. The situation is extremely concerning, he said.
While he couldn't speak to us on camera, representatives at their corporate offices released this statement.
"A boycott of Cold Stone Creamery is mostly burdening small business owners in local communities across the country. It is our hope that customers in turn continue to visit their local Cold Stone Creamery stores which employ staff of various ages and races" said spokeswoman Jami Thompson.
But for Abeytia and "Boycott Arizona," stopping their boycott is not an option any time soon.
In fact, they're expanding their list of businesses to include those companies that contributed heavily to the Arizona Republican Party; companies like J.P. Morgan Chase and Clear Channel Communications.
The group is planning two protests this week, to include the El Paso Republican Party headquarters and Clear Channel Communications building.
Meanwhile, City Council members and County Commissioners await their versions of a resolution to come across their desks.
No word on when the final version will be drafted, nor when they will vote on it.