Thread: ALIPAC in News: Latinos to boycott today

Many say they'll skip work, school or shopping as part of `national day of action'
DÁNICA COTO
dcoto@charlotteobserver.com

Local restaurants, grocery stores, construction companies and other businesses likely will stay open today, albeit with a smaller workforce given a nationwide protest against anti-immigrant legislation.

Hundreds of Latinos in the Charlotte area are expected to skip work, many of them with permission from their bosses. They're participating in the "National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice," created by a Washington-based coalition and observed today nationwide through rallies and marches.

Ten men interviewed Sunday in Charlotte said they had Latino bosses who encouraged them to miss work in protest.

"I was surprised, because he also comes out losing," said José Demetrio, 29, of his boss who employs about 100 Latino construction workers. All are expected to be absent, he added.

Tyson Foods, which has 11 centers in North Carolina, supported workers attending rallies but asked that they first check with their supervisors, according to a news release.

Charlotte advocates said they didn't agree with people skipping work or school. Instead, they organized a "No Consumption" day, urging immigrants not to buy or use any kind of products or services today.

"We're hoping that employers stop to consider what this is all about," said organizer Adriana Gálvez. "That if you need people here to do the work, to buy, then give them a legal channel to get here."

A Senate bill that would have strengthened border security and provided access to citizenship to more than half of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants, among other changes, collapsed this week. Talks will resume after a two-week recess.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are asking that students not skip school and instead take advantage of a learning opportunity, said spokeswoman Nora Carr. They can study the effect of protests, she said.

"There are so many avenues for that, especially at the high school level in social studies, economics or foreign language classes," she said.

Principals also are looking at partnering with local Latino agencies to host forums and continue the dialogue, Carr said.

Repercussions for skipping school, if any, vary by state.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg students will receive an unexcused absence, Carr said. Students in Montgomery County schools in Maryland, however, are getting community service credit if they participate in the rally, which is during their spring break.

Ursula López, 36, heard about today's protests from her teenage daughters, who talked of skipping school. López wasn't sure whether that was a good idea. She supported the "no consumption" concept, though, by visiting Sav/Way Foods on Central Avenue Sunday to avoid buying anything today.

López joined hundreds of Latinos shopping at the store Sunday. About 95 percent of the customers are Latinos, said a manager who declined to give his name.

"(Monday) may be a bad day for sales," he said. "But we're not going to close down for that."

Several store owners, both Latino and American, said they noticed a slight increase in customers Sunday who bought more than their usual fare.

If people don't shop today, it'll hurt a lot of businesses, said Ed Tamo, manager of Compare Foods at Milton Road.

"Monday is a big day for us," he said. "

In South Carolina, rallies were scheduled for Charleston, Columbia and Greenville.

The protests help make the case for stricter immigration laws, said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC in Raleigh.

"They've given America a visual image of how bad the illegal immigration problem is, and it's caused a huge backlash," he said. The next nationwide protest is tentatively scheduled for May 1, when immigrants might boycott their job.

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High School kids given community service credit for supporing illegal aliens. It just keeps getting better and better to be an illegal alien. Maybe I should denounce my US citizenship, become a Mexican citizen, then crawl across the border and get all the freebies.

If Congress passes any kind of amnesty with no provisions for a wall...all hell could break loose.

Close to 100 comments posted to the article. Those people in Charlotte are telling it like it is.

Are these "hard working" illegals also going to boycott the welfare programs, schools, hospitals, and taxpayer supported social services? Of course not. I'll gladly take the extra expense of paying $1 more for a head of lettuce and mow my own lawn (which I do anyhow) than have to live in a third world cesspool with illegal alien criminals infesting and bankrupting America. Cheapskate scumbag lawbreaking employers and welfare state bureaucrats might need illegal aliens, but not hard working, law abiding, taxpaying American citizens AND legal residents do not need them or want them.