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Arizona Immigration Law Not the Solution

New York, July 7, 2010---Whatever the political implications of the Department of Justice suit against Arizona, the passage of SB 1070 will have profound economic consequences for the state and its citizens.

“What this will do to the local community is drive families, both legal and illegal, out of the local communities and out of the state, leaving behind a wake of closed businesses and a devastated local economy,” says COO of Oregon-based J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., Gary S. Furr.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the City of Atlanta Luz Borrero notes, “Arizona’s newly passed legislation will have a negative impact not only on the ability of legal immigrants to move freely and exercise their rights in Arizona but will also impact businesses and enterprises that depend on the participation of immigrants as part of their labor force.”

“The effect of the Arizona law and copycat legislation around the country is to legitimatize profiling and create new barriers to Hispanics’ socioeconomic mobility,” says AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal. Additionally, this does not make economic sense for Arizona, where Hispanic purchasing power totals over $30 billion." 

Read more of what business leaders have to say about SB 1070 and similar legislation at AS/COA’s Hispanic Integration Hub. This webpage is also a resource for the latest data on Hispanic immigrants and features videos with private-sector leaders discussing their views on immigration and integration.

For more information on AS/COA’s Hispanic Integration Initiative or to request an interview with one of our directors, email communications@as-coa.org or call (212)-277-8384.


About AS/COA and Immigration/Integration:
Americas Society and Council of the Americas’ work on immigration and integration promotes dialogue and information sharing among the private sector, public sector, and community groups to advance Latino integration, with a focus on the immigrant population, and raises awareness of their socioeconomic contributions. In January 2010, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, AS/COA launched its Hispanic Integration Hub (www.hispanicintegration.org), an online destination to present and promote private-sector experiences of effective integration efforts.