The novelist Tayari Jones has posted a copy of her letter to organizers of a writers conference in Pima announcing her intent to boyott Arizona because of SB 1070. She writes:
That people should be legally required to show proof of citizenship is similar to the antebellum mandate that black people produce "free papers" proving themselves not to be slaves. It recalls the pass system under South Africa's Apartheid. Sadly, visiting Arizona for a conference or a vacation without fear has become an ostentatious display of privilege.
Perhaps she doesn't know that federal immigration law requires non-citizen permanent residents to carry documentation at all times. SB 1070 mirrors federal law. I can't wait to read Tayari's letter to President Obama announcing her intent to boycott DC.
Welcome to the United States.
