Thread: How will boycott in Carpentersville go over?

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=258193

How will boycott in Carpentersville go over?
Carpentersville groups at odds over the effect of act

BY LARISSA CHINWAH AND EMILY KRONE
Daily Herald Staff Writers
Posted Saturday, December 09, 2006



A Latino group opposed to Carpentersville police enforcing federal immigration laws is planning to take its boycott of local businesses to the streets today.

But some on both sides of the debate are not certain how effective the boycott will be.

The Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration will begin promoting an indefinite boycott of all businesses, hoping to stop the village from acting as local immigration police.

The founder of the Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration, Fernando Leyva, said local police targeting immigrant neighborhoods in search of illegal immigrants would be more harmful than the village's proposal to fine businesses that hire and landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

The village board Tuesday formally asked for federal aid under the so-called "287 (g)" program, which enables towns and states to work with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

"The 287 (g) training is worse than the actual ordinance because 287 (g) is an actual law," said Leyva, a West Dundee resident. "This will split up more families because people will be detained and reported."

While he agrees illegal immigration is a problem, Leyva said federal reform is inevitable - and will better serve all the people of Carpentersville, a village of 35,000 with a Latino population of at least 40 percent. Authorizing local police to take federal matters into their own hands would create fear and tension, and make matters worse, he said.

Beginning today, Leyva and about 14 members of the Illinois Alliance will cease supporting local businesses until the village's request for training is withdrawn - and they plan to recruit as many as they can to join them.

"It has to be done to all businesses so no one can accuse us of anything like being racist," said Leyva, a loan originator. "That's fair. The resolution effects everyone in Carpentersville, so the boycott is for all of Carpentersville."

But others warned the boycott would punish businesses.

"I don't think this is the right way to do it," Village President Bill Sarto said. "There are better ways to make a point than to boycott business owners. It is targeting the wrong people. ... It is not in the best interest of business owners or the residents in Carpentersville."

Bob Sperlazzo, chairman of the Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration and a technical writer, said the proposed boycott will be counterproductive.

"All it would do is polarize people and hurt the village," said Sperlazzo, who lives in Carpentersville. "It would hurt the very people they say they want to help. It would hurt some of the businesses that support his group."

The outcome of these sorts of boycotts can be the opposite of what organizers intended, Sperlazzo warned.

He cited the example of Escondido, Calif., where a boycott targeted a gas station owner who supported a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Instead, supporters of the illegal immigration ordinance traveled from across the county to patronize the gas station and defeat the boycott.

But a crackdown will repel, not attract, people to Carpentersville, Leyva said. If the village isolates the Latino community, which either one of its crackdown plans would surely do, Leyva said, immigrants both legal and illegal will leave town - in droves.

The boycott, he said, would show the effects of that exodus, without permanent damage.

"If the 287 (g) training goes through, we want to show that this is what the economy would be like in Carpentersville because people would leave," Leyva said. "Sure, it would cause panic now. But it would be worse later on and cause more panic because the effects would be irreversible once the program is in place."

Although the Illinois Alliance is the first group to carry out a boycott in Carpentersville, it is not the first to consider action.

Leaders of the Carpentersville Community Alliance, the first group to form in opposition to the proposed ordinance cracking down on illegal immigrants, discussed employing similar action but put the plans on hold, citing bad timing.

"We need to do things positively until we can show with facts that this is ridiculous," said Silvia Realzola, president of the Carpentersville Community Alliance. "If we do a boycott, it is going to be effective, but who is it going to affect? It is going to make it hard on the business owners and the residents."

Some business owners Friday said the boycott would hurt business.

"Business is already bad. Business is already slow," said Rosa Figueroa, a manager of La Illusion in Carpentersville. "If this happens, things are just going to get worse."

A village-wide boycott is a blunt instrument, but a narrower boycott could be effective, said Jorge Chappa, director of the Center for Democracy in an Multiracial Society at University of Illinois.

Paradoxically, a boycott of businesses that hire illegal immigrants - a group likely to oppose any Carpentersville crackdowns - could help advance the anti-ordinance cause, Chappa said.

"It might work, to really target businesses that aren't living up to their civic responsibility," Chappa said. "It would be a good chance to get businesses to say, 'We really need these workers, and let's get these people here in a way that's sane and legal.

Maybe it's the mood I'm in but when I read this all I seem to get is ,you are going to have to accept the illegals and everything that goes along with it or we are going to put you out of business. Kind of like the boss who has personality issues with an employee but can't find a reason to fire them, so they make life so difficult that the person quits.

It's just amazing how a specific group of people have just been able to come in and literally run people out of their homes, their street, their subdivisions, and then out of town and most aren't even citizens! Suddenly making them citizens isn't going to alter whats going on. Another area of damage that is going to get to the point where it's so overpowering it can't be fixed.

Seems more towns that don't have a problem better start making their laws while they can.

How can 14 members' boycott affect the city?

But a crackdown will repel, not attract, people to Carpentersville, Leyva said. If the village isolates the Latino community, which either one of its crackdown plans would surely do, Leyva said, immigrants both legal and illegal will leave town - in droves.

The legals can stay, but if the illegals leave in droves, then that's exactly the outcome the city wants. Tell you what, this pointless boycott only makes my resolve stronger. I live an hour away and feel strongly enough that I'll take a drive over and shop till I drop -when I learn what businesses need me. Escondido all over again I'm sure.

All of the boycotts we have seen these groups launched have failed just like in Farmer's Branch.

W

"The 287 (g) training is worse than the actual ordinance because 287 (g) is an actual law," said Leyva, a West Dundee resident.

IMO, spend the money on 287 - g training rather than defending a lawsuit by the ACLU. I would imagine the traing is cheaper and more effective, since it's an actual law. It's certainly more feared.

Go, go 287 - g !

The Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration will begin promoting an indefinite boycott of all businesses, hoping to stop the village from acting as local immigration police.

The founder of the Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration, Fernando Leyva, said local police targeting immigrant neighborhoods in search of illegal immigrants would be more harmful than the village's proposal to fine businesses that hire and landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

The village board Tuesday formally asked for federal aid under the so-called "287 (g)" program, which enables towns and states to work with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

"The 287 (g) training is worse than the actual ordinance because 287 (g) is an actual law," said Leyva, a West Dundee resident. "This will split up more families because people will be detained and reported."

Looks like old Fernando isn't REALLY interested in LEGAL Immigration, huh. Really worried about an actual 'law' with a few teeth that could help catch the bad guys......wonder why that is, Fernando?

Dear Member of Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration,
In case you missed it, our friend Fernando and his group has called a boycott of all businesses in C'ville over our successful passage of the Section 287(g) provisions last Tuesday night (see article below). Currently, it is getting limited coverage (in the Daily Herald and a couple mentions on news radio and CLTV) -- not much else, yet. However, we don't want to assume that the effects will be minimal, given the climate of the battle over the proposed ordinance.

Attached is a copy of the actual "News Bulletin" that Fernando & friends have been passing out in traffic. Also attached is a good translation of the "News Bulletin" into English, so you can read for yourself the hysteria and fear-mongering that is being promoted. (Notice that there is a scheduled meeting for Monday night, if anyone wants to volunteer to go record and translate it).

All we ask is that you do as much of your shopping in Carpentersville as you are able, especially East C'ville and around Springhill Mall. And, ask your family and friends to do the same. Recently, when they tried to boycott one of the Trustees in Escondito, California, the local residents went into action and ended up giving him THREE TIMES his normal business. We'd like to see that kind of success to put this to rest once and for all!

Thank you for your efforts toward complete victory...
Bob Sperlazzo, Chairman


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Amazing how illegal people (as in they aren't suppose to be here in the first place) are bold enough to say they will boycott business. What did the businesses do? All cities ought to be signed up for the 287(g) program to help enforce the laws. Should have been done yrs ago, but then all our laws should have been enforced years ago or this country wouldn't be in this tangled mess.

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/kanesto ... ntersville

Carpentersville boycott today
Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration pushes date because of confusion

By Lenore T. Adkins
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Monday, December 11, 2006

If the Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration has its way, everyone in Carpentersville will participate in a boycott of local businesses that started at midnight.

Group leaders hope the boycott continues indefinitely, or at least until Carpentersville officials kill a proposal that could give police the power to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

The alliance is encouraging Carpentersville residents to refrain from patronizing local businesses.

The boycott comes on the heels of the village board formally asking for federal aid under the so-called “287 (g)” program, which enables towns and states to work with the federal government to enforce immigration laws. The board made the request Tuesday.

Fernando Leyva, president and founder of the 14-member Latino alliance, says such a measure would split local immigrant families, leaving many children without their parents.

Fernando Leyva, president and founder of the Illinois Alliance for Legal Immigration, passes out fliers to motorists along Route 25 that advertise a local boycott of Carpentersville businesses that started today.


Carpentersville is a village of 35,000 with a Latino population of at least 40 percent.

“What’s more painful, a business being hurt or the parents being taken away from the kids?” Leyva asked. “Separating families should be illegal. I mean, it’s a moral thing.”

Members of the alliance spent Saturday and Sunday passing out fliers about the Carpentersville boycott, after having met a few days earlier to organize it.

The boycott was supposed to begin Saturday, but Leyva said that confusion about the starting date made him move it to today.

Meanwhile, Carpentersville has become a local center of the immigration debate that’s sweeping the nation, particularly when it comes to what local governments can do to eradicate illegal immigration.

Twice in the past month, Carpentersville trustees have sent resolutions to President Bush and Congress, panning the federal government’s failure to aggressively address the issue.

Carpentersville jumped into the immigration fray in September after trustees Judy Sigwalt and Paul Humpfer introduced a proposal that would fine businesses and landlords who hire or rent to illegal immigrants and also make English the village’s officials language.

Now, this guy is one hell of a planner & organizer
He couldn't even get the "start date" coordinated properly, lol.

Members of the alliance spent Saturday and Sunday passing out fliers about the Carpentersville boycott, after having met a few days earlier to organize it.

The boycott was supposed to begin Saturday, but Leyva said that confusion about the starting date made him move it to today.