State Senate backs boycott [View All]

[Flabbergasted]

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3761950

By Steve Geissinger, SACRAMENTO BUREAU,



SACRAMENTO — Elected officials Thursday clashed over a planned nationwide protest Monday on federal immigration reform — The Great American Boycott 2006 — with the governor's aides and the state schools chief at odds with the Democratic majority in the state Senate.

The state Senate, in a vote along party lines, endorsed the boycott of schools, jobs and stores by immigrants and their supporters.

Supporters equated the debate over immigrant rights to the battles over slavery, women's suffrage, the internment of Japanese during World War II and the Vietnam War.

But Republican senators said the nonbinding resolution was misleading because it failed to mention a goal of the boycott was pressuring Congress to legalize millions of undocumented people.

Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, who co-authored the Senate resolution, said her support stemmed from her roots. "My parents are immigrants from El Salvador. I remember going to school and not knowing a word of English," she said in an interview after the session.

"It is a historic time in the nation to acknowledge the contributions of immigrants to this state and nation," she said.


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