Thread: Farmers Branch Hispanic leaders urge 'intelligent buying'

Seems to me this will allow citizens to know where to shop.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16062126.htm

Posted on Mon, Nov. 20, 2006



Farmers Branch Hispanic leaders urge 'intelligent buying'

By ANNA M. TINSLEY
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

They call it intelligent buying.

Hispanic leaders are kicking off a campaign encouraging consumers to shop only at businesses in Farmers Branch that support immigrant rights and the Hispanic community.

This is the latest development in an ongoing controversy in the small Dallas suburb where city leaders last week approved ordinances preventing illegal immigrants from renting apartments; declaring English the city’s official language; and allowing police officers to be federally trained to target “criminal aliens.”

“We need to show them our money is important,” said Carlos Quintanilla, president of the Dallas-based Azteca Business Development Group, which is spearheading the effort. “We’re basically saying if you’re going to Farmers Branch, buy from businesses that support the Hispanic community and immigrant rights.”

His organization plans to give Farmers Branch businesses stickers to put on their windows to indicate that they support intelligent buying.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of impact,” said Quintanilla, also a member of the new Farmers Branch chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “There are a lot of companies that depend on immigrant revenues.”

Farmers Branch City Councilman Tim O’Hare, who initially suggested pursuing the measures locally, said he would never encourage people not to shop at a business whose owners have different political beliefs than he does.

“That’s not good for the city,” he said. “There is a forum to address these issues. It’s through government officials, through the voting process — not through a passive-aggressive stance against local businesses.

“This is another attempt to intimidate people and force their way on a majority that does not agree with their views.”

The issue has drawn national attention, shining a spotlight on Farmers Branch as the most recent city to adopt anti-illegal-immigration ordinances.

Hispanic leaders say they are still hammering out a legal strategy to try to prevent the Farmers Branch ordinances from going into effect. They say they don’t know when or where a lawsuit could be filed.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, area LULAC officials and the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union are among those reviewing legal possibilities.

“We are determined to litigate it and challenge it in court,” Quintanilla said. “. . . It’s not over. This will be an ongoing battle.”

Legal challenges abound
Some other communities where similar attempts have been made face legal challenges as well.

In Hazleton, Pa., which has been a leader in the nationwide anti-illegal-immigrant movement, city leaders passed ordinances that do things such as fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that employ illegal immigrants.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the city from putting the measures into place and later extended the temporary block, based on a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, for up to 120 days, saying the ordinances could create some “irreparable harm.”

In Escondido, Calif., a federal judge also put a temporary hold on similar laws this month after a lawsuit by the ACLU amid concerns such as those about fair housing. That judge indicated that the laws could cause irreparable harm and that he didn’t know whether they could survive legal scrutiny.

But some communities are even going further.

In Pahrump, Nev., about 60 miles west of Las Vegas, the town council even took issue with foreign flags.

Officials there passed a law recently making it illegal to fly a foreign nation’s flag higher than the U.S. flag — or alone. Violators of that ordinance could have to pay $50 and serve 30 hours of community service.

“All of the illegal alien protesters are waving Mexican flags and we just got tired of it,” Pahrump town board clerk Paul Willis told the Reuters wire service. “This is the United States, and the Stars and Stripes should fly supreme.”

What MONEY? .......they send most of it back to their respective countries. Furthermore, what's left of their "money" is mostly spent in hispanic stores. Not too much left for the rest of the business community, is there?

.

Yawn!

What a last ditch desperate act. They boycotted Farmers branch over the last few months and the sales tax revenues were actually higher during that period. They couldn't impact a piss ant.

Dixie

“We need to show them our money is important,” said Carlos Quintanilla, president of the Dallas-based Azteca Business Development Grou

so he's not from Farmers Branch, just pretending to be. We succeeded in Farmers Branch, now we should try Plano or Garland or another surrounding city. Take all of the perimeter then Dallas will be easy

One of my biggest complaints with the ACLU is, do they not know what their initials stand for?
A = American

Why are they even concerned with being the MCLU and if they are the MCLU why dont they go to the border with Guatemala and stop Mexican soldiers from shooting and torturing illegals passing through there on the way to the US? The Mexicans stringently enforce their southern border.

Originally Posted by dragons5

“We need to show them our money is important,” said Carlos Quintanilla, president of the Dallas-based Azteca Business Development Grou

so he's not from Farmers Branch, just pretending to be. We succeeded in Farmers Branch, now we should try Plano or Garland or another surrounding city. Take all of the perimeter then Dallas will be easy

Garland will be monitoring the aftermath, but it is a much larger city with a much larger Hispanic population. My guess is that the protests will be much larger and more vocal as well. I'm not sure that the city government has the stomach to move forward, but I'll be riding them on it.

I remember an article on here where the protesters where picketing a councilmembers gas station who voted for the ordinance. Turns out people went out of their way to get gas from him, even coming from other communities. The protesters started throwing cups (article didn't say what kind) at the customers but ran away before the police came.

So...if a protest like this came up in my area I pledge I'd go out of my way to buy in that town, such as Farmers Branch.

Originally Posted by fedupinwaukegan

I remember an article on here where the protesters where picketing a councilmembers gas station who voted for the ordinance. Turns out people went out of their way to get gas from him, even coming from other communities. The protesters started throwing cups (article didn't say what kind) at the customers but ran away before the police came.

So...if a protest like this came up in my area I pledge I'd go out of my way to buy in that town, such as Farmers Branch.

Yep. I'll be going out of my way to shop at Turner Hardware in Farmers Branch, and I'll try to hit the gas stations there on my way to and from work. Local talk show host Daryl Ankarlo had successfully promoted an anti-boycott by broadcasting his show from various small businesses there and encouraging folks to give their business to FB merchants. Unfortunately, Ankarlo appears to have been forced out of his gig by his KLIF, which has replaced its Conservative talk show hosts with Moderates since the election. Nevertheless, lots of us still continue to show our support to FB in any way that we can.

Originally Posted by fedupinwaukegan

I remember an article on here where the protesters where picketing a councilmembers gas station who voted for the ordinance. Turns out people went out of their way to get gas from him, even coming from other communities. The protesters started throwing cups (article didn't say what kind) at the customers but ran away before the police came.

So...if a protest like this came up in my area I pledge I'd go out of my way to buy in that town, such as Farmers Branch.

Yes, that happened in Escondido with Council Member Sam Abed's gas station. So by the opposition protesting the station, it brought more attention to it, causing others to show their support by buying gas there. Was great! Hope the citizens of the FB community do the same.