Great American Boycott
Encyclopedia
The Great American Boycott (known in Spanish
as El Gran Paro Estadounidense, "the Great American Strike") was a one-day boycott
of United States
schools and businesses by immigrants, both legal and illegal
, of mostly Latin America
n origin that took place on May 1, 2006.
The date was chosen by boycott organizers to coincide with May Day
, the International Workers Day observed as a national holiday in Asia, most of Europe, and Mexico, but not officially recognized in the United States due to its Communist associations.
As a continuation of the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests, the organizers called for supporters to abstain from buying, selling, working, and attending school, in order to demonstrate through direct action
the extent to which the labor obtained of illegal immigrants is needed for the economy of the United States
. Supporters of the boycott rallied in major cities across the U.S. to demand general amnesty
and legalization programs for such non-citizens. For this reason, the day is referred to as A Day Without an Immigrant in reference to the 2004
political satire
film
A Day Without a Mexican
.
Many who participated in the marches waved American flags, although some waved flags of Mexico and other Central and South American countries, while others waved flags bearing the likeness of slain Marxist
revolution
ary leader Che Guevara
, and/or the red flag
.
The majority of demonstrations were peaceful, although a Vista, California
rally took a violent turn at day's end when crowds began throwing rocks and bottles at sheriff's deputies. There were also two arrests made at a demonstration in Los Angeles's MacArthur Park
. A stabbing that occurred near the location of the march in San Jose, California
, may or may not have been related to the day's events.
While the economic effects of the boycott are unknown, some initial reports indicated that, while the boycott failed to halt "business as usual", commerce slowed significantly in certain areas.
In a show of solidarity, internationally, labor unions
and other groups engaged in a one-day boycott of U.S. products called the "Nothing Gringo
Boycott", particularly in Mexico
and Central America
n countries. It was later reported that this boycott had little, if any, effect on the U.S. economy. Demonstrations were also held in major cities across Mexico.
The boycott was announced on April 10, 2006 in Los Angeles
, California
by the March 25 Coalition of Catholic groups, immigration advocacy organizations, and labor unions. Hermandad Mexicana, an affiliate of the Mexican American Political Association
, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
(CHIRLA), Amigos de Orange, and local MEChA
chapters all promptly joined. It was coordinated nationally by the May Day Movement for Worker & Immigrants Rights.
The coalition arose out of protests against H.R. 4437
, a legislative proposal that was passed by the United States House of Representatives
on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182, only to die in the United States Senate
by not being brought to the floor before the 109th Congress ended. This bill would have made residing in the U.S. illegally a felony
and imposed stiffer penalties on those who knowingly employ and harbour noncitizens illegally. It also called for the construction of new border security fences along portions of the 2,000-mile United States–Mexico border
. The coalition takes its name from the date of the first mass protest against the bill, a day which saw upwards of 500,000 demonstrators on the streets of Los Angeles, as well as hundreds of thousands in other major U.S. cities. The March 25, 2006 protests were noted for their peaceful nature, despite the controversy surrounding the immigration issue.
According to the New York Times,
President
George W. Bush
urged immigrants not to boycott, and instead to protest after work and on the weekend.
California
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
said that a boycott would "hurt everyone".
California's top education official opposed the boycott and called for students to stay in school on Monday.
Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa
, the city's first Mexican-American mayor since the 19th century, called for children to attend school and for a late afternoon rally. He also urged protesters to carry American flags, and not the flags of their home countries.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
offered Mass
as an alternative to boycotting, and suggested that churches toll their bells in memory of immigrants who died trying to come to the U.S. The bishop
s, too, urged students to stay in school.
National Hispanic and immigration-advocacy groups were also split, with some fearing that the actions would provoke a backlash. The League of United Latin American Citizens
, normally a moderate organization, was one of the few to fully support both the boycott and the strike.
The Washington, D.C.
-based National Capital Immigration Coalition denounced the Boycott, while the National Council of La Raza
took no position whatsoever.
Numerous anti-war
, left-wing
, socialist and communist groups also endorsed the Boycott. The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism coalition, in particular, provided signs and mobilized supporters to attend demonstrations, and while the American Civil Liberties Union
took no official stance, it offered advice and information for protesters on its website. The AFL-CIO
also endorsed the protests, saying that the H.R. 4437 "isn't the answer" to immigration issues. The AFL-CIO's executive vice president, Linda Chavez-Thompson
, stated: "We believe that there is absolutely no good reason why any immigrant who comes to this country prepared to work, to pay taxes, and to abide by our laws and rules should be relegated to this repressive, second-class guest worker status."
Republican congressman Tom Tancredo
stated that "The iron triangle of illegal employers, foreign governments and (interest) groups ... puts tremendous pressure on our elected officials to violate the desires of law-abiding Americans. As nearly every recent poll shows, Americans want secure borders -- not amnesty -- and sooner or later they'll elect representatives who will listen to their constituents."
Counter-demonstrations took place in various cities to coincide with the day's events, although they were mostly small in size. Some encouraged their members to buy from American businesses to offset the economic impact of the boycott. Among them are the Southern California talk radio
hosts John and Ken
, who called for "The Great American Spend-a-Lot", a contest with prizes for listeners who spent the most money.
The volunteer border security Minuteman Project, which has organized citizens' patrols along the US-Mexican border to monitor and deter illegal immigration, hosted rallies across the country, starting on Wednesday, May 3 in Los Angeles. They also began constructing a 6 feet (1.8 m) barbed wire fence along the border in Arizona. According to Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist
, "It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag. This will backfire."
A new group, the 'You Don't Speak For Me
' coalition, was formed in response to the boycott to challenge the notion that May 1 protesters speak on behalf of all Hispanic
s. According to former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Pete Nunez, who is the group's spokesperson, "Millions of Hispanic-Americans -- including many who have gone through the immigration process the right way -- are offended by the demands being made by people who have broken our nation's laws."
CNN's Lou Dobbs
, criticized the boycott for its promotion by groups such as the radical protest organization ANSWER, (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Dobbs also stated that "It is no accident that they chose May 1
as their day of demonstration and boycott. It is the worldwide day of commemorative demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and even anarchic organizations."
The Washington Post suggested that the May 2 ouster of the mayor and two council members in the town of Herndon, Virginia
who had suffered criticism for their support of a day-labor center was a negative reaction to the Boycott. Some Southern and Western states drew up new tougher anti-illegal immigration laws. The Post also credited backlash from the Boycott support in the Arizona legislature
for the passage of laws penalizing businesses who hire illegal immigrants and on other crimes associated with illegal immigration. Georgia has also since passed a law, which took effect in 2007, that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving many social services and requires police and employers to report illegal workers to the Immigration Service.
Fox News's Sean Hannity
asked "Why is it that so many people who didn't respect our laws and our sovereignty are demanding for the right to stay here, demanding for the right to jump in front of other people who are going through the process properly, and those that disagree are being called racist and bigoted?"
According to an editorial by conservative commentator, Cinnamon Stillwell of the San Francisco Chronicle
, "The one thing the boycott did achieve was to expose the lie that the country cannot function without the labor of illegal immigrants. While some may have been inconvenienced by the experience, the economy hardly came to a grinding halt. It seems there are still some jobs Americans are willing to do."
On May 15, 2006, President Bush announced plans for the Pentagon
to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard
troops to help secure the Southern U.S. border.
H.R. 4437
was passed by the House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182.
On May 25, 2006, The U.S. Senate approved by a vote of 62-36, its own White House-backed immigration reform bill that would grant some illegal aliens a chance at citizenship and strengthen border security. Negotiations were held with the aim of meshing the Senate's immigration bill with H.R.4437, no agreement was reached before the election in November.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as El Gran Paro Estadounidense, "the Great American Strike") was a one-day boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
schools and businesses by immigrants, both legal and illegal
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
, of mostly Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n origin that took place on May 1, 2006.
The date was chosen by boycott organizers to coincide with May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
, the International Workers Day observed as a national holiday in Asia, most of Europe, and Mexico, but not officially recognized in the United States due to its Communist associations.
As a continuation of the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests, the organizers called for supporters to abstain from buying, selling, working, and attending school, in order to demonstrate through direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
the extent to which the labor obtained of illegal immigrants is needed for the economy of the United States
Economy of the United States
The economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its nominal GDP was estimated to be nearly $14.5 trillion in 2010, approximately a quarter of nominal global GDP. The European Union has a larger collective economy, but is not a single nation...
. Supporters of the boycott rallied in major cities across the U.S. to demand general amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
and legalization programs for such non-citizens. For this reason, the day is referred to as A Day Without an Immigrant in reference to the 2004
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
A Day Without a Mexican
A Day Without a Mexican
A Day Without a Mexican is a 2004 film directed by Sergio Arau.A Day Without a Mexican, opened on May 14, 2004 in limited release throughout Southern California and on September 17 in theaters in Chicago, Texas, Florida and New York City, is a fantasy in which all Mexicans in the U.S...
.
Many who participated in the marches waved American flags, although some waved flags of Mexico and other Central and South American countries, while others waved flags bearing the likeness of slain Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ary leader Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, and/or the red flag
Red flag
In politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution. Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its...
.
The majority of demonstrations were peaceful, although a Vista, California
Vista, California
Vista is a city in north San Diego County, California. It was incorporated January 28, 1963 and became a charter city on June 13, 2007. Located just seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in northern San Diego County, the City of Vista has a Mediterranean climate...
rally took a violent turn at day's end when crowds began throwing rocks and bottles at sheriff's deputies. There were also two arrests made at a demonstration in Los Angeles's MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park is a park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, named after General Douglas MacArthur and designated city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.- Geography :...
. A stabbing that occurred near the location of the march in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, may or may not have been related to the day's events.
While the economic effects of the boycott are unknown, some initial reports indicated that, while the boycott failed to halt "business as usual", commerce slowed significantly in certain areas.
In a show of solidarity, internationally, labor unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
and other groups engaged in a one-day boycott of U.S. products called the "Nothing Gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
Boycott", particularly in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n countries. It was later reported that this boycott had little, if any, effect on the U.S. economy. Demonstrations were also held in major cities across Mexico.
Origin
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by the March 25 Coalition of Catholic groups, immigration advocacy organizations, and labor unions. Hermandad Mexicana, an affiliate of the Mexican American Political Association
Mexican American Political Association
Mexican American Political Association is an organization that promotes the interests of Mexican-Americans, Mexicans, Latinos, Chicanos, Hispanics and Latino Economic Refugees in the United States.-History:...
, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles is an American political advocacy organization.-History:Following the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, representatives from Central American Resource Center , Asian Pacific American Legal Center , Los Angeles Center...
(CHIRLA), Amigos de Orange, and local MEChA
MEChA
M.E.Ch.A. is an organization that seeks to promote Chicano unity and empowerment through political action. The acronym of the organization's name is the Spanish word mecha, which means "fuse"...
chapters all promptly joined. It was coordinated nationally by the May Day Movement for Worker & Immigrants Rights.
The coalition arose out of protests against H.R. 4437
H.R. 4437
The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 was a bill in the 109th United States Congress. It was passed by the United States House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182 , but did not pass the Senate...
, a legislative proposal that was passed by the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182, only to die in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by not being brought to the floor before the 109th Congress ended. This bill would have made residing in the U.S. illegally a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
and imposed stiffer penalties on those who knowingly employ and harbour noncitizens illegally. It also called for the construction of new border security fences along portions of the 2,000-mile United States–Mexico border
United States–Mexico border
The United States–Mexico border is the international border between the United States and Mexico. It runs from Imperial Beach, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east, and traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major...
. The coalition takes its name from the date of the first mass protest against the bill, a day which saw upwards of 500,000 demonstrators on the streets of Los Angeles, as well as hundreds of thousands in other major U.S. cities. The March 25, 2006 protests were noted for their peaceful nature, despite the controversy surrounding the immigration issue.
According to the New York Times,
- "The boycott grew from an idea hatched by a small band of grass-rootsGrassroots democracyGrassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
advocates in Los Angeles, inspired by the farmworker movementDelano grape strikeThe strike began when the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, mostly Filipino farm workers in Delano, California, led by Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, walked off the farms of area table-grape growers, demanding wages equal to the federal minimum wage...
of the 1960s led by Cesar ChavezCésar ChávezCésar Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
and Bert Corona. Through the Internet and mass media catering to immigrants, they developed and tapped a network of union organizers, immigrant rights groups and others to spread the word and plan events tied to the boycott, timed to coincide with International Workers' Day".
Initial response
The boycott and strike provoked controversy as soon as they were proposed. National organizations and prominent figures split over whether to support the boycott, with many moderates endorsing demonstrations but withholding support for the boycott. Many of the "moderate" demonstrations were scheduled for three o'clock in the afternoon, after working-hours for the many unskilled professions where illegal immigrant labor tends to be concentrated.President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
urged immigrants not to boycott, and instead to protest after work and on the weekend.
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
said that a boycott would "hurt everyone".
Los Angeles Mayor
Mayor of Los Angeles, California
The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city. He is elected for a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan...
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
, the city's first Mexican-American mayor since the 19th century, called for children to attend school and for a late afternoon rally. He also urged protesters to carry American flags, and not the flags of their home countries.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
offered Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
as an alternative to boycotting, and suggested that churches toll their bells in memory of immigrants who died trying to come to the U.S. The bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, too, urged students to stay in school.
National Hispanic and immigration-advocacy groups were also split, with some fearing that the actions would provoke a backlash. The League of United Latin American Citizens
League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens was created to combat the discrimination that Hispanics face in the United States. Established February 17, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups already in existence...
, normally a moderate organization, was one of the few to fully support both the boycott and the strike.
The Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based National Capital Immigration Coalition denounced the Boycott, while the National Council of La Raza
National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza is a non-profit and non-partisan advocacy group in the United States, focused on improving opportunities for Hispanics. It is sometimes confused with La Raza Unida...
took no position whatsoever.
Numerous anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
, left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, socialist and communist groups also endorsed the Boycott. The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism coalition, in particular, provided signs and mobilized supporters to attend demonstrations, and while the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
took no official stance, it offered advice and information for protesters on its website. The AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
also endorsed the protests, saying that the H.R. 4437 "isn't the answer" to immigration issues. The AFL-CIO's executive vice president, Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation Mexican American and union leader. She was elected the executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO in 1995 and served until September 21, 2007. She is also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the board of trustees of United Way...
, stated: "We believe that there is absolutely no good reason why any immigrant who comes to this country prepared to work, to pay taxes, and to abide by our laws and rules should be relegated to this repressive, second-class guest worker status."
Regional demonstrations
Organization of events fell to local groups. In some cases, the split that occurred on the national level was evident on the local level as well in that separate events were planned by the various organizers. Major events were held in:- AtlantaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
- An estimated 2,500 protesters turned out for the event, although Atlanta police had been prepared for as many as 100,000.
- Inland Empire Riverside police estimated that approximately 3000 people marched from UC Riverside to the steps of the county administrative building in downtown Riverside. 1500 people congregated outside San Bernardino City Hall and later marched throughout the city. Many area businesses closed for the day, schools across Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties saw extra absences and UC Riverside's cafeteria traffic dipped 20%.
- Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
- On the Las Vegas StripLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
and in Downtown, a procession of more than 10,000 walked Las Vegas BoulevardLas Vegas BoulevardState Route 604 is the route number designation for parts of Las Vegas Boulevard, a major north–south road in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada in the United States best known for the Las Vegas Strip and its casinos. Formerly carrying U.S...
from the downtown Fremont ExperienceFremont Street ExperienceThe Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost 5 blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch," and portions of some other adjacent streets.The attraction is a barrel vault canopy,...
to Tropicana AvenueTropicana AvenueTropicana Avenue is a major east–west section line arterial in the Las Vegas area. The road is named after the Tropicana Resort & Casino which is located on the Las Vegas Boulevard where it intersects with Tropicana Avenue. Part of it is signed as Nevada State Route 593.-Route description:SR...
, a distance of about 5 miles.
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- Between 1 and 2 million (UnivisionUnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
estimate) protesters marched in two separate marches, one beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Downtown Los AngelesDowntown Los AngelesDowntown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
and primarily organized by the Mexican American Political Association, and the second beginning at 3:00 p.m. from Downtown Los AngelesDowntown Los AngelesDowntown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
down Wilshire BoulevardWilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
and organized by the "We Are America" coalition of religious groups including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los AngelesRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los AngelesThe Archdiocese of Los Angeles is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the...
, ethnic interest groups, and labor organizations such as the Los Angeles County Federation of LaborAmerican Federation of LaborThe American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
, AFL-CIO. The impact of the boycott was felt throughout the Latino community, and Southern California generally. Businesses were closed, traffic piled up for miles around the march route, and over 90% of the daily traffic out of the Port of Los AngelesPort of Los AngelesThe Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
was shut down.
- MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
- Nearly 70,000 people participated in a march through downtown Milwaukee, according to an organizer estimate. That number is more than double the estimated 30,000 who attended a similar event about five weeks before, on March 23. Though Police has estimated attendance there at 10,000-15,000 Participants marched along Wisconsin Ave. until reaching Veteran's Park, the site of a rally at noon on the lakefront. Mayor Tom BarrettTom Barrett (politician)Thomas Mark "Tom" Barrett is the Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving since 2004. He ran for Governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, losing by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent to Republican Scott Walker. Previously, Barrett served in the United States House of Representatives...
addressed the ralliers, saying "Thank all of you for the fight you're fighting for peace and dignity. You're showing Milwaukee and Wisconsin and the U.S. that the fight for justice can be done peacefully." Wisconsin Restaurant Association president Ed Lump also spoke, emphasizing the importance of immigrants to the restaurant industry as workers, customers, managers, and entrepreneurs. The crowd was littered with American flags and red, white, & blue signs—people who brought Mexican flags or those of other nations were urged to put them away during the march. According to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of the event's main coordinator Voces de la Frontera, roughly 200 Milwaukee businesses remained closed for all or part of the day.
- New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- A march of over 200,000 people began in ChinatownChinatown, ManhattanManhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, rallied in Union Square ParkUnion Square (New York City)Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
, and continued down BroadwayBroadway (New York City)Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
to Federal Plaza was led by a diverse coalition of workers' and immigrants' organizations. Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
and Roger ToussaintRoger ToussaintRoger Toussaint was the President of Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union of New York City Transit Authority employees in New York City and is now Vice President of Strategic Planning for the parent union, an international organization.-Early life:Toussaint emigrated to New York from...
were among the leaders of the march. In a poll, the majority of New Yorkers believed that the protest would result in a backlash. However, very few stores closed for the boycott. Organizers formed a human chainHuman chainA human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link their arms as a show of political solidarity.The number of demonstrators involved in a human chain is often disputed; the organizers of the human chain often report higher numbers than governmental authorities.Notable human chains, in...
.
- Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
- Of the 89,000 companies in the county, most remained open on the day of the boycott. Between 8,000 and 10,000 people marched in Santa AnaSanta Ana, CaliforniaSanta Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
. Two protesters were arrested after rocks and bottles were thrown at the police. Turnout in other parts of the county were negligible. Some Orange County public schools reported no change in the number of absent students, while others were slightly higher.
- San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
- Over 200,000 people marched from Justin Herman Plaza to Civic Center in front of San Francisco City Hall. The march and rally were organized and mobilized by a wide range of churches, faith-based groups, labor organizations, anti-war groups, community-based organizations and other progressive forces advocating for immigrant rights.
- Santa FeSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
/AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
- Rallies were organized by Somos un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant-advocacy group. 74 businesses closed in Albuquerque, as did another 50 in Santa Fe.
- San Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
- Canal Alliance, an immigrant advocacy group, scheduled two events, one at 10:00 a.m. and the other at 5:00 p.m. for those unable to abstain from work. An estimated 3,000 people assembled near San Rafael Transit Center in the downtown area.
- Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
- Numerous businesses, particularly in heavily Latino areas, closed for the day. As many as one third of Santa Barbara School District students did not attend classes. Many of them marched from their schools to City Hall before meeting up with other protesters for the main rally and march, which attracted some 15,000 supporters.
- SeattleSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
- Around 20,000 to 30,000 demonstrators marched from the central districtCentral District, Seattle, WashingtonThe Central District is a mostly residential district in Seattle located east of Cherry Hill, west of Madrona and Leschi, south of Capitol Hill, and north of Rainier Valley...
to the Federal Building downtownDowntown SeattleDowntown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by the Elliott Bay, and on the south by reclaimed land that was once...
.
- TampaTampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
/St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
- The largest rallies in Florida were held in Hillsborough CountyHillsborough County, FloridaAs of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
, whose seat is Tampa. Across the county, approximately 12% of middle and high school students were absent (five percentage points higher than the average). Several tomato farms closed for the day when agricultural workers did not arrive.
- Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- Business closures and higher-than-normal absentee rates were reported. Little impact to area business resulted.
Business response
- CargillCargillCargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
Meat Solutions, the No. 2 US beef producer and No. 3 pork producer, closed five of its U.S. beef plants and two hog plants due to the immigration rallies. 15,000 workers were given the day off.
- Goya FoodsGoya FoodsGoya Foods, Inc. is the manufacturer or distributor of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Latin American countries, with company headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey....
, which bills itself as the nation's largest Hispanic-owned food chain, suspended delivery everywhere except Florida, saying it wanted to express solidarity with immigrants who are its primary customers.
Opposition
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
stated that "The iron triangle of illegal employers, foreign governments and (interest) groups ... puts tremendous pressure on our elected officials to violate the desires of law-abiding Americans. As nearly every recent poll shows, Americans want secure borders -- not amnesty -- and sooner or later they'll elect representatives who will listen to their constituents."
Counter-demonstrations took place in various cities to coincide with the day's events, although they were mostly small in size. Some encouraged their members to buy from American businesses to offset the economic impact of the boycott. Among them are the Southern California talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
hosts John and Ken
John and Ken
John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou, known professionally as John and Ken are American talk radio hosts of a four-hour weekday radio show, The John and Ken Show, on KFI AM 640 in Southern California. The John and Ken Show airs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m....
, who called for "The Great American Spend-a-Lot", a contest with prizes for listeners who spent the most money.
The volunteer border security Minuteman Project, which has organized citizens' patrols along the US-Mexican border to monitor and deter illegal immigration, hosted rallies across the country, starting on Wednesday, May 3 in Los Angeles. They also began constructing a 6 feet (1.8 m) barbed wire fence along the border in Arizona. According to Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist
Jim Gilchrist
James "Jim" Walter Gilchrist, Jr. is the American co-founder and president of the Minuteman Project, an activist group whose aim is to prevent illegal immigration across the United States's southern border.-Early life:...
, "It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag. This will backfire."
A new group, the 'You Don't Speak For Me
You Don't Speak for Me
You Don't Speak for Me is an anti-illegal immigration activist group in the United States. Retired Army Colonel Al Rodriguez founded the group in 2006, to represent Hispanic Americans like him who are opposed to legalization for those who have entered the US illegally or overstayed their...
' coalition, was formed in response to the boycott to challenge the notion that May 1 protesters speak on behalf of all Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s. According to former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Pete Nunez, who is the group's spokesperson, "Millions of Hispanic-Americans -- including many who have gone through the immigration process the right way -- are offended by the demands being made by people who have broken our nation's laws."
CNN's Lou Dobbs
Lou Dobbs
Louis Carl "Lou" Dobbs is an American journalist, radio host, television host on the Fox Business Network, and author. He anchored CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight until November 2009 when he announced on the air that he would leave the 24-hour cable news television network.He was born in Texas and lived...
, criticized the boycott for its promotion by groups such as the radical protest organization ANSWER, (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Dobbs also stated that "It is no accident that they chose May 1
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries...
as their day of demonstration and boycott. It is the worldwide day of commemorative demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and even anarchic organizations."
The Washington Post suggested that the May 2 ouster of the mayor and two council members in the town of Herndon, Virginia
Herndon, Virginia
Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 21,655 at the 2000 census, which makes it the largest of three towns in the county.-History:...
who had suffered criticism for their support of a day-labor center was a negative reaction to the Boycott. Some Southern and Western states drew up new tougher anti-illegal immigration laws. The Post also credited backlash from the Boycott support in the Arizona legislature
Arizona Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...
for the passage of laws penalizing businesses who hire illegal immigrants and on other crimes associated with illegal immigration. Georgia has also since passed a law, which took effect in 2007, that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving many social services and requires police and employers to report illegal workers to the Immigration Service.
Fox News's Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
asked "Why is it that so many people who didn't respect our laws and our sovereignty are demanding for the right to stay here, demanding for the right to jump in front of other people who are going through the process properly, and those that disagree are being called racist and bigoted?"
According to an editorial by conservative commentator, Cinnamon Stillwell of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, "The one thing the boycott did achieve was to expose the lie that the country cannot function without the labor of illegal immigrants. While some may have been inconvenienced by the experience, the economy hardly came to a grinding halt. It seems there are still some jobs Americans are willing to do."
Summary
The boycott highlighted the concerns of millions living in the United States legally and illegally and the highly emotional issue of illegal aliens in the US, provoking intense debate on all sides of the political spectrum.On May 15, 2006, President Bush announced plans for the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
troops to help secure the Southern U.S. border.
H.R. 4437
H.R. 4437
The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 was a bill in the 109th United States Congress. It was passed by the United States House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182 , but did not pass the Senate...
was passed by the House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239 to 182.
On May 25, 2006, The U.S. Senate approved by a vote of 62-36, its own White House-backed immigration reform bill that would grant some illegal aliens a chance at citizenship and strengthen border security. Negotiations were held with the aim of meshing the Senate's immigration bill with H.R.4437, no agreement was reached before the election in November.
See also
- Immigration reformImmigration reformImmigration reform is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform " means to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses....
- Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986The Immigration Reform and Control Act , , also Simpson-Mazzoli Act, is an Act of Congress which reformed United States immigration law.In brief the act:* required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status....
- Illegal immigration to the United StatesIllegal immigration to the United StatesAn illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
- List of United States immigration legislation
- "Nuestro HimnoNuestro Himno"" is a Spanish-language version of the United States national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". The debut of the translation came amid a growing controversy over immigration in the United States "" (Spanish for "Our Anthem") is a Spanish-language version of the United States national anthem,...
" - Open immigration
External links
- Los Angeles Photos of March & Protest, Streetgangs.com, May 1, 2006
- Information on the planned rallies
- You Don't Speak For Me Coalition
- El Uno de Mayo by On the Fence Films
- Scattered violence mars local rallies