Robbie Waters will not endorse a Sacramento boycott of Arizona

By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com
Thursday, May. 27, 2010

Not everyone on the Sacramento City Council is thrilled with the idea of boycotting Arizona over that state's new immigration law.

Councilman Robbie Waters said in a radio interview Thursday he would vote against any boycott of Arizona and said the council should not be "wasting two or three hours on an issue like this" as it deals with a $43 million deficit.

Two other councilmembers - Steve Cohn and Ray Tretheway - have also said they are not convinced the city should enact any boycott.

On Tuesday, the City Council directed city staff to draft a resolution outlining the terms of a boycott of Arizona-based companies. The council could vote on that resolution as early as its June 10 meeting.

The Arizona law will require police to check for immigration status when they suspect those they stop, detain or arrest are in the country illegally.

That differs from policies in California; Sacramento police only ask for immigration status documents from those suspected of violent crimes.

Critics have charged the law will lead to racial profiling, while many supporters have touted it as an essential tool against violent drug cartels and criminals from Mexico.

In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Eric Hogue on KTKZ 1380 AM on Thursday, Waters said he "certainly can sympathize with racial profiling (concerns of the new law), I certainly don't support that, but this is not in my opinion the way to go, to penalize the state of Arizona."

Waters said he missed Tuesday's meeting due to the flu. But he told Hogue the discussion should not have even taken place without a council vote first.

"It's not within our jurisdiction, it is not our business," he told Hogue. "A boycott of economic development in Arizona would be something I'd be totally opposed to."

At Tuesday's meeting, Cohn said he was "not sure I would support any boycott by the city council as being the right remedy."

While Tretheway criticized the law for possible racial profiling, he described the issue of a boycott as a "quandary."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/27/278161 ... z0pBPNkY2U