After a public hearing in which a few misinformed residents spoke out against the proposed City boycott and denouncement of Arizona, the resolution passed and awaits a signature from Mayor Perez.

The resolution to “denounc[e] SB 1070 and […] boycott […] discretionary City travel to Arizona and business with Arizona-based companies” was strongly supported by the City Council. Since the City has no apparent plans to travel to Arizona, and since it does no significant business with Arizona-based companies, this resolution is more symbolic than anything else. It is not an attempt to prevent residents from traveling to Arizona or buying goods from the state, as some believed it to be.

Besides sending a message to the Arizona government, this sends a message locally. In a city like Hartford, which has such a large immigrant population, it is important for those who are here legally to be assured that the trouble they went through to become citizens is not about to be in vain; nothing seems like a step backward more than to have one’s citizenship questioned. This also sends the message that racial profiling here and anywhere is not acceptable.

This kind of a message needs to be sent now, during economic crisis, because money talks. In our country’s history, we have seen that bigots step aside when their wallets are affected, not when their hearts are.