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California prepares for boycott that could be historic or routine


By Peter Prengaman
ASSOCIATED PRESS

10:40 a.m. April 30, 2006

LOS ANGELES – If Californians should keep one thing in mind for Monday's “Day Without An Immigrant” it's this: be prepared for anything.
Some stores, restaurants and work sites will close – because workers don't show up or due to customers staying away as part of an economic boycott. Classrooms in some schools will be empty.

And if hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters do participate, rallies at government buildings statewide could swell. In Los Angeles, police are preparing for 500,000 marchers.

Hispanic activists claim widespread support for the boycott – an idea hatched in Southern California that has spread nationwide – despite calls by religious and union leaders that workers and students rally after work and school hours. Even limited participation could have a noticeable effect: one out of four Californians are foreign-born, and an estimated 30 percent of those immigrants are undocumented.

“We have heard everything across the board,” said Jordan Traverso, spokeswoman for the California Restaurant Association. “Members who would like to stay open but now they can't, members worried that customers would see them being sympathetic to the cause, and ones who want to close because they are sympathetic.”

The boycott is the crescendo to a wave of national protests over a bill passed by the House that would make it a crime to lend a hand to illegal immigrants and build hundreds of miles of walls along the U.S.-Mexico border.

It comes as the Senate considers legislation to strengthen the nation's borders, expand temporary worker programs and give many of the 11 million illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship – the central demand of protesters.

While many immigrants will not participate, there is a feeling that Monday won't be like any other day. And business owners, parents and others are trying to prepare.

Dozens of day labor centers and businesses statewide have already announced plans to close. Parents are scrambling to make contingency plans if baby sitters don't show up, or if there are massive student walkouts.

A Port of Long Beach spokesman said he's heard hundreds or even thousands of truckers may not show up to haul cargo to or from the waterfront.

On Friday, a handful of Hispanic truckers called for a general strike, and urged truckers statewide to follow.

“We need to change this country,” said trucker Rodolfo Pinera, a Salvadoran immigrant. “This country is about to meet the giant who was sleeping.”

Los Angeles-based La Curacao, a major retailer catering to Hispanic clients, will keep stores open Monday, but only to provide information on immigration reform.

The decision came after numerous customers expressed how important the boycott was to them, while many employees didn't want to lose a day's pay, said Mauricio Fux, vice president for corporate development.

“We'll lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, but you can't force people to do one thing or the other,” said Fux.

Demonstrations are planned from Fresno to San Diego, including a noon rally at the state Capitol. Some are planned for work and school hours, with others scheduled to take place afterward.

Police in Los Angeles are planning for two rallies they believe could muster a half-million people – similar to the March 25 protest credited as a formative moment in the movement.

Authorities have said they're not expecting violence, and plans for counter protests are notably absent.

While some Hispanic activists are calling for employees to stop work and students to skip school, other proponents of immigration reform, including more moderate Hispanic groups, the Catholic Church, and national labor unions are encouraging immigrants to demonstrate after work and school.

The different times of the two Los Angeles rallies – one planned for noon and the other at 4 p.m. – are a manifestation of that division and suggest why Monday could either be historic or just one of many protest days.

Adding to the uncertainty are the Spanish-language disc jockeys, who encouraged listeners to protest March 25 but have since softened calls to activism, and in some cases openly opposed the boycott.

Public officials also are sending mixed signals.

On Thursday, the state Senate endorsed the boycott, equating it with the great social movements in American history. The same day, California's top education official appeared with school district superintendents in several cities to urge students to stay in school.

That was the message from Los Angeles' Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Cardinal Roger Mahony, two outspoken proponents of immigration reform.

“We firmly believe children should be in school every school day, including May 1, present and ready to learn,” they wrote in an open letter distributed widely.