WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- Organizers said thousands of people participated in a one-day boycott to protest proposed bills the Arizona Legislature aimed at illegal aliens.
Elias Bermudez, executive director of the Centro de Ayuda, which organized Tuesday's protest, told the Arizona Republican, "It couldn't have gone better." He said some 2,000 people demonstrated at the state Capitol to take the message directly to legislators.
Among the issues that activists were protesting is Proposition 200, a voter-registration measure that would also limit healthcare and education opportunity for undocumented immigrants.
Several companies told the newspaper their staffs were severely depleted Tuesday as workers called in sick or just didn't show. Other companies said the boycott caused only limited outages.
The boycott was called to show the economic impact Hispanics have in Arizona. The Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia said Hispanics spend a total of $57.35 million a day in Arizona, the Republic reported.
