Mayor Michael B. Coleman has banned city workers from traveling to Arizona on government business, a decision that plunged Columbus yesterday deep into the nation's emotional debate over illegal immigration.
Coleman, who opposes a new Arizona law allowing police to demand documentation from people who they suspect are in the country illegally, has told city department heads that he will not authorize travel to the state and will review contracts with businesses based there on a case-by-case basis.
The travel ban started several weeks ago when the mayor rejected a request from the city's technology director to attend a seminar in Phoenix, Coleman spokesman Dan Williamson said.
"He agrees with those who want to send a message to the state of Arizona that this is not the American way," Williamson said.
But the decision brought swift calls for retaliation from supporters of the Arizona law, who insist the state is not targeting people based on race or ethnicity but simply reacting to a lack of federal action to enforce existing immigration laws.
News of the policy first was reported on Dispatch.com yesterday morning. By early afternoon, after conservative websites began linking to the story, a boycott against Columbus was brewing.
"I was about to book a week in Columbus so my son could attend a sports camp at OSU," wrote one reader, a resident of Virginia. "I guess I will take my money elsewhere. No summer trip to Columbus for my family."
A reader from Michigan wrote: "This settles it for me then. I will no longer stop in Columbus for my meals, fuel and hotel while traveling from Michigan. I will just go a little farther down I-70 and give my money to Zanesville."...
