Illegal's Boycott Arizona By Leaving

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About

"Illegal's Boycott Arizona By Leaving" is the title of an anti-immigration propaganda message widely circulated on the Internet in late July and early August of 2010. It is one of many instances of the ongoing demonization of illegal immigrants -- and, to a slightly lesser extent, Hispanic immigrants -- by the American Right.

None of the repostings I was able to locate indicated any source other than "AP", which is almost certainly false, so I hypothesize that it originated on "Scooter's Blog", which is also credited in the picture which was usually included with the repostings.

Postings

  • 2010-07-12: Scooter's Report: possibly the original, and certainly the source of the photo usually accompanying the article
  • 2010-07-25: In God We'll Trust "Conservative Christian Political Blog"
  • 2010-07-26: Yahoo! Group for the NYPD Tactical Patrol Force
  • 2010-07-27: Topix
  • 2010-07-28: THE OBAMA DISASTER discussion board
  • 2010-07-30: Boycott Sacramento, CA for Boycotting Arizona group on Facebook (may not be permanently accessible)
  • 2010-08-01: AOL Messageboards
  • 2010-08-06:
    • fuckfrance.com
    • Finding Enemies of Freedom
      • I commented on this blog post, and much dialogue ensued; apparently the whole myth about illegal aliens causing a crime wave can be traced back to a false statement by John McCain that Phoenix currently has the 2nd highest kidnapping rate in the world. That statement was widely reported as fact and then repeated (without verification) by Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mike Huckabee, Bill Kristol, and probably others. Even the Phoenix Chief of Police, the Pima County Sherriff, and other law enforcement officials don't think the law is necessary.
        ...and then I found this, which shows that the murder (not kidnapping) rate in Phoenix is about twice the national average, and car theft is about 3 times the national average. So there's some substance to the themes the satire picks up, even if the target is questionable.
        How much of that crime is due to illegal immigrants, though? Compare with, say Tucson, which is much closer to the border -- and where both murder and car theft are less than in Phoenix -- or Sierra Vista, practically right on the border, where crime is about one third the national average.
        To be fair, it would be better to compare Tucson (pop. 514,618) and Sierra Vista (pop. 39,888) with the crime stats for similar-sized cities in the US rather than with Phoenix (pop. 1,403,228), but I think the real question to ask is how much of that crime is actually due to illegal aliens? Do those statistics exist anywhere? What's really going on here?
    • (2010-09-09 update) Wow, what a jerk. I ask for evidence, and all he can do is get more and more childish. This dialogue surely must offer some insight into the mindset behind these beliefs, but at the moment it's lost on me. --Woozle 22:33, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
  • 2010-08-07: 4chan with the comment "Saw this on a gunboard I visit. Politics I know, but it's hilarious."

The complete text follows. The punctuation error in the title is present in all or most of the repostings.

Text

Phoenix, AZ (AP) - Thousands of illegal immigrants are showing their outrage with Arizona 's controversial new SB-1070 law by boycotting the state and moving elsewhere.

One example of those who are punishing the state by leaving is illegal immigrant Manuel Renaldo. As he loaded his stolen car with his family of twelve's belongings, Renaldo told this reporter through an interpreter, "It's a matter of principle, 'homes.' I refuse to be supported by someplace that treats me like a criminal."

The affects of the exodus are being felt by Arizona retailers who report dwindling beer, spray paint, and ammunition sales. Also hit hard are Arizona hospitals, who have reported a dramatic decline in births and emergency room visits by illegal aliens. "We're ecstatic," said one administrator for Banner Health in Phoenix . "At this rate we may see a profit one day."

The boycott/exodus of Arizona by illegals is expected to grow exponentially leading up to the law's starting date.

Analysis

The message implies that "illegals" are mostly criminals; this is false. Areas with higher populations of immigrants have been reporting lower than usual crime rates. There has been a great deal of propaganda about massive crime waves caused by illegal immigrants; this is false.

The message totally avoids addressing many of the legitimate arguments against the law.

Notes

For a future page about SB-1070:

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