Last modified Saturday, April 29, 2006 11:38 PM PDT

'A Day Without Immigrants': Monday boycott of jobs, school and shopping could be widespread

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- Thousands of North County residents, many here illegally, are expected to heed a call to skip work, school and avoid making purchases Monday as part of a nationwide show of force and opposition to tougher immigration laws pending in Congress.

Just how widespread the walkout will be won't be fully realized until employers, schoolmasters and merchants open their doors Monday morning.

Organizers are calling on participants to wear white shirts and join in protest with what they predict will be hundreds of thousands rallying in California, home to an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants.


Across the country, a huge number of the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants are expected to take part in demonstrations in major American cities, a show of force that anti-illegal immigration groups call an ill-advised affront.

Deciding what to do Monday was not easy for many Latinos.

At Escondido's Los Mochis Fish Market, shop manager Valentine Diaz was in a quandary over what he would do.

While he supported the call for the boycott intended to show the importance of the nation's massive immigrant population, he worried about his livelihood if a call for Latino-owned businesses to close their doors Monday is heeded by his boss.

"I support it," Diaz said of the nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" demonstration. "But I need to make money."

Efforts to reach Diaz's boss for his plans were unsuccessful. Owners of several other Latino small businesses said they likely wouldn't make a firm decision on what to do until this weekend.

There was no such uncertainty at El Tigre Foods, a chain of six markets with stores in Vista, Fallbrook and Escondido. All of its stores are shutting down Monday, giving its mostly Latino workers the chance to take part in public demonstrations around the county, including ones in Vista and Escondido.

Eleven North County school districts also are clear in their plans, saying that students who walk off campus will face suspension or extra class time.

Local events


The boycott follows up the nationwide demonstrations in late March in opposition to the most stringent of proposed immigration reforms, House Resolution 4437, a bill by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., that includes declaring all illegal immigrants to be felons subject to deportation.

The bill is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is also debating a competing proposal from Sens. Edward Kennedy and John McCain.

While the March demonstrations were a hastily organized effort that caught police, schools and employers off guard, Monday's action, which is also being called "The Great American Boycott," has been publicized for weeks.

In Vista, organizers expect hundreds of people to gather at Wildwood Park at East Vista Way and Escondido Avenue for what a coordinator said will be a celebration of Latino and immigrant culture, and an opportunity to teach people about myriad immigration issues.

"The whole idea is to show there is a need for the immigrant population," said Tina Jillings, a member of the Coalition for Justice, Peace and Dignity, a Vista group that formed after the shootings of three Latino men in that city. "We hope to send the message that we are a people of value with a heritage, that we have a culture of beauty, and that we make a difference."

The Vista event is set to begin at 11 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m.

In Escondido, members of a group called the San Diego Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform will stage a candlelight vigil from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in Grape Day Park.

Organizer Armondo Marin said he expects as many as 5,000 people to descend on the park.

"We expect to show the world that we are together and that we have a message," Marin said. "The message is, yesterday we marched, today we act, tomorrow we vote."

In San Diego, a march along the border with Mexico is planned to start at 1 p.m. and end at San Ysidro Community Park, where speeches, voter registration and cultural presentations are scheduled.

Police agencies have had sufficient time to meet with event organizers and plan for the day, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Capt. Glenn Revell.

"From what we've been able to ascertain, it doesn't appear we will need any additional staffing and we are not anticipating any problems because we expect things to be peaceful," he said.

There are no known organized gatherings in Southwest Riverside County, but a morning march to City Hall is planned in Riverside, and a vigil and procession is scheduled to take place in Perris from 5:30 until 7 p.m.

Boycott organizers have said they selected Monday because May 1 is a traditional workers' rights day around the world.

Employers prepare


Many employers were meeting last week to decide how to proceed if their workers don't show up, and to decide what penalties they may impose.

At Mellano & Co., one of the largest wholesale flower businesses in North County, Mike Mellano said the company has told its 220 employees that they must work.

"We're in Mother's Day season and we need to stay open," Mellano said. "This is an important time of year for us. By staying away from work Monday, it won't do anything in my mind to advance the situation. It only hurts the people trying to help them."

While boycott organizers want people to stay away from work, they warned employees who don't have permission to be off they could face disciplinary action or outright dismissal.

And that's just what the California Association of Employers was advising its 500 members, including about 100 in San Diego County.

"We're telling our members that if their employees made prearrangements not to be at work, then that's great," said Kim Parker, the Sacramento-based group's executive vice president. "But if an employee did not do that, they can face sanctions."

The association warned members, however, to be careful, saying that if a worker was not fired in the past for an unexcused absence, taking that action against workers who join the boycott could result in a discrimination claim.

Workers at Del Rey Avocado in Fallbrook approached their bosses about shutting down the packinghouse Monday. But in the end, Del Rey co-owner Bob Lucy said workers decided to stay on the job.

"We discussed it with our employees and told them we respected the fact that they may want to take the day off and that there was peer pressure to do so," Lucy said. "But we are a fresh produce business and we told them that if we do that, we would have to work Saturday to keep the fruit flowing, and ultimately, by consensus, they told us they would work."

Lucy said no one pressured the employees in any way to come to that decision.

The San Diego County Farm Bureau said its discussions with farm operators showed that many were giving their workers the option of taking Monday off.

At the North County Transit District, which runs North County's network of Breeze buses and its Coaster commuter trains, officials had no indications that drivers were planning to walk off.

"Generally, if something like that is going to happen, people talk and we hear about it," said spokesman Tom Kelleher.

Workers who don't show up on Monday will be handled on an individual basis, he said.

At Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, spokesman Jeff Segall said the facility's 2,100 full- and part-time employees are expected to be at work unless they have approved leave.

"While we need to honor our employees' personal beliefs, our concern is providing quality care and treatment," Segall said. "If an employee has an unauthorized absence, their supervisor will require an explanation and they may be required to show a note from a doctor."

Local diocese mum


The San Diego Catholic Diocese, which represents nearly 1 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties, had no advice for its membership on the call to boycott. The vast majority of Mexicans and Latino immigrants are Catholic.

"There have been no messages supporting or opposing it, and that's indicative of our position," Chancellor Rodrigo Valdivia said last week.

But in Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahoney asked people to ignore the boycott and mark the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker by spending their time understanding "the dignity of work, the value of education and the important role immigrants play."

Tim Bueler, spokesman for the Minuteman Project that got its start in California and has rallied anti-immigration forces and staged watches along the border with Mexico, said the group hopes that illegal immigrants also do not avail themselves of any social services on Monday.

"Our hope is they stay away from hospitals and collecting food stamps and all the benefits that get via American taxpayer dollars," he said of the group that claims a nationwide membership of 200,000. "If that happens, we wish days like Monday could occur more often."

The controversial group is planning its own form of protest, an impending four-week caravan from Los Angeles to Washington to protest any legislation that would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

"Our message to Washington is that if you do not vote to protect America and our national security, that will be a slap in the face to the rule of law and we will vote you out of office," Bueler said.

Anti-illegal immigrant blogger and activist Ray Carney of Fallbrook said he believes the boycott will further anger Americans who were upset that many of last month's marchers carried Mexican flags.

"This will just add fuel to the fire," said Carney, who last year organized a rally in Fallbrook against the Mexican consulate issuing identity cards to its citizens. "While I can understand that people want to protest, holding the country hostage is something Americans are not going to tolerate."

While the protesters point to restrictive immigration bills as the catalyst for their movement, Carney said there is only one way Congress can act.

"Secure the borders now, deport illegal aliens and create a guest-worker program later," he said.

Not all agree


At the Philadelphia-based offices of a Quaker group, American Friends Service Committee, immigration coordinator Christian Ramirez said a bill that grants legalization status to law-abiding immigrants is the only law that will make sense.

"We have to be able to talk to one another in a rationale way about this debate in Congress and reach a solution that works," said Ramirez, who until recently ran the group's office in San Diego.

He pointed out there is some division among immigrant groups about Monday's actions.

"While some are opposed to the boycott and saying it sends the wrong message, others say it is time for immigrants to show how strong they are," he said.

Ramirez echoed Vista's Tina Jillings call for a day of conversation and debate about the immigration issue.

"It's not so much about a protest or a march, but a time for communities to talk about the current debate in Congress, and build on the momentum that started with the marches a few weeks ago."

The Vista coalition's Jessica Nolan put it this way:

"Immigration reform is a complex and serious issue ... and we will only resolve this issue by working together," she said.

UC Riverside political science professor Armando Navarro, an organizer of the recent marches and boycott in Southern California, predicted the economic impact from walkout will run deep.

"We will vote with our feet and show direct action by not going to work or to school and putting economic pressure on the centers of power," he said. "When the corporate powers start feeling the vibrations from the Latino community, they will start the debate moving in the right direction.

"This country is dependent on immigrant labor, and we are at a critical juncture for true immigration reform, not just for Latinos, but for anyone who lives in this country in darkness and in fear," Navarro said.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.