The backlash against Arizona's draconian immigration law mounted today as civil rights leaders urged organisations to cancel conventions, baseball players faced protesters on the road and the AriZona iced tea company insisted its drinks were made in New York.
Arizona is under fire over its new law cracking down on illegal immigrants, with opponents pushing for a tourism boycott like the one that was used to punish the state 20 years ago over its refusal to honour the Martin Luther King with a holiday.
"The goal is to as quickly as possible bring to a shocking stop the economy of Arizona," former state senator Alfredo Gutierrez said, as a coalition called Boycott Arizona was formed.
The outcry has grown steadily in the week since Republican governor Jan Brewer signed America's toughest law against illegal immigration.
The measure makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally and directs police to question people about their immigration status and demand to see their documents if there is reason to suspect they are illegal.
Many in Arizona support the law amid growing anger over the US government's failure to secure the border. The state has become a major gateway for drug smuggling and human trafficking from Mexico.
But critics say the law will lead to racial profiling and other abuses and are giving Arizona a public relations beating over the issue.
Groups have called on people not to fly Tempe-based US Airways, rent trucks from Phoenix-based U-Haul or go to Suns and Diamondbacks games. A New York congressman and others are urging major league baseball to move the 2011 All Star Game out of Phoenix.
The cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles have talked of cutting off deals with the state and its businesses.
Phoenix is vying for the 2012 Republican National Convention, and at least one mayor has called on political leaders to choose a different city.
About 40 immigrant rights activists gathered outside Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday, chanting "Boycott Arizona" as the Diamondbacks opened a series against the Cubs. A small plane pulling a banner criticising the law circled the stadium.
Civil rights leaders from the Rev Al Sharpton to Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa have pushed for a boycott.
Turning the tables on the state, the Mexican government warned citizens to use extreme caution when visiting Arizona.
With all things Arizona now under attack, the AriZona Beverage Company evidently feared business would suffer. The iced tea firm tweeted: "AriZona is and always has been a NY based company! (BORN IN BKLYN '92)"
Fifteen million people visit Arizona each year for holidays, conventions and sporting events such as the Fiesta Bowl, pro golf tournaments and baseball spring training.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association cancelled an autumn conference to be held at a Scottsdale resort.
"We knew that the governor had this bill sitting on her desk," spokesman George Tzamaras said. "Literally, minutes after she signed it the board of governors convened a conference call, and by an almost unanimous vote the association decided to pull that meeting."
America's oldest black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, announced yesterday that it would move its July convention from Phoenix to Las Vegas.
The prospect of a boycott has unnerved Arizona tourism chiefs.
"We're worried about keeping every convention and meeting here in Phoenix. It's an economic driver here in the state; it provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and a good economic boost to the state," said Doug MacKenzie, spokesman for the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Mr MacKenzie said he had heard of five or six event cancellations, adding: "I think it's misguided to bring the tourism industry into the crosshairs of this political issue."
Ms Brewer's spokesman, Paul Senseman, said boycotts were a foolish response when opponents could mount a legal challenge or try to repeal the law in a referendum.