Immigration Advocates Split Over Arizona Boycott

By MARC LACEY
Published: September 14, 2011

PHOENIX — The boycott of Arizona is on. No, the boycott of Arizona is off. Deciding whether to visit this state, which may or may not be boycotted, is as disorienting as peering into the depths of the Grand Canyon.

After Arizona’s passage of controversial immigration legislation in April 2010, musicians canceled Arizona concerts, tourists canceled Arizona vacations and convention organizers bypassed Arizona in favor of less politically toxic states. But the very activists who put the boycott in place, hurting the state’s pocketbook in the process, are now divided over whether it ought to continue.

Some called for the boycott’s end last year, after a federal judge blocked the most contentious elements of the immigration law. Others have peeled off more recently, with the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, announcing on Friday that it no longer backed the boycott. Still other activists have dug in their heels, insisting that Arizona ought to remain off limits for the foreseeable future.

“There’s been confusion surrounding every aspect of this issue from the start,â€