Immigrant groups plan economic boycott

By Elizabeth Aguilera
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 03/08/2007 08:36:06 PM MST


Immigrants and their supporters plan to keep their money at home for a week.

No new televisions, no extra clothing, no wiring money to family members abroad or even paying for a photocopy at the consulate.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which represents nearly 80 immigrant groups statewide, on Thursday announced an economic boycott set to begin Sunday, March 25.

"The economic gears of this country are dependent on the 12 million undocumented workers here - it cannot work by itself," said Ignacio Ramirez, of Immigrant Families in Southwest Denver. "We play an important role in the economy."

Representatives from Padres and Jovenes Unidos, the American Friends Service Committee, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights and the Muslim American Society gathered in Skyline Park in downtown Denver to announce their plans.

The boycott is set to begin after a group of 10 Colorado immigrant activists travel to Washington D.C. next week to lobby Congress for immigration reform that includes a pathway to legalization for illegal immigrants and support for the DREAM Act, which would help undocumented students access college.

"We hope to educate the Congress more about the situation immigrants face, and the need in this country for reform," said Marvink Correa, who is traveling to D.C. for Rights for All People. "This is a situation that cannot continue."

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Littleton Republican, says an economic boycott will make little difference. He does not support efforts to legalize illegal immigrants.

"People who break the law forfeit a certain amount of comfort, by design," he said. "What this group is looking for is not "comprehensive immigration reform" but an amnesty and pathway to citizenship for people who have broken the law."

But boycott organizers are printing 50,000 fliers and are urging immigrants and supporters to avoid spending money on anything except necessities such as food and medicine. They are also discouraging immigrants from sending any remittances abroad and to avoid any consular transactions.

Immigrants want to send a message to Latin American governments, which rely on more than $30 billion in remittances annually, said Ramirez. They hope to jar those governments into supporting immigration reform in the U.S..

Immigrant supporters say the economy and the need for labor dictate a need to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows, said Tom Kowal, a retired state employee who is traveling to D.C. next week.

"We have got to get the politics out of it and some humanity and some practicality in it," he said.

The economic boycott is expected to reach other states after Colorado organizers meet with national immigrant advocate groups over the weekend, said Julien Ross, coordinator of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

The Muslim American Society is on board for the boycott, said Hashem Malik. About half of the 10 million Muslims in the U.S. are immigrants, he said.

"It's sad to see that spending dollars are welcome, but when it comes to representation it's invisible," Malik said. "When corporations see the money walk out the door they pay attention."

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