IMPENDING NATIONAL BOYCOTT OF GEORGIA SHOULD ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAW PASS

Local and national groups press Governor Deal to commit to veto Arizona-style anti-immigrant legislation in fear its passage will lead to national boycotts of Georgia (similar to the Arizona boycotts) from national organizations. A national network of organizations that coordinated the boycott in Arizona after the passage of its anti-immigrant law in 2009 has sent a letter to Governor Deal of Georgia notifying him of efforts underway to organize a national boycott of Georgia, in the event that Georgia’s Arizona copycat legislation HB 87 should become law. The National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON) and The Turning the Tide campaign sent the letter to the governor threatening to contact all conventions, organizations, companies, cities, counties, and states that participated in the Arizona boycott to advise them of the current status of Georgia’s legislation and tell them to be ready to change plans, divest, and/or issue travel alerts to avoid the state of Georgia. These anti-immigrant laws and consequent boycotts will have a devastating effect on Georgia's tourism and convention industry, one of the largest in Georgia. Other groups in support of the boycott include the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force. According to a recent New York Times report, Arizona had, less than six months after passage of the controversial anti-immigrant law, lost $45 million in convention revenue and stands to lose upwards of $750 million overall. If it stands, this legislation may cost Georgia a lot more because Georgia has more tourists and convention business than Arizona.