May 1 is quickly approaching, and most of America may not even realize what it will represent.
It's the upcoming "Day Without Immigrants" that immigrants' rights groups have been planning feverishly over. It will include rallies, vigils, marches, strikes, and boycotts. However, some are starting to rethink the message they want to send. How strong should their message be? It's also splitting the groups down the middle in whether or not they should use boycotting as a way to send the message home. The question is will boycotting hurt instead of help?
After flexing their potential political muscle by coming out in unprecedented numbers to protest immigration legislation, immigrants are now starting to show some divisions in the ranks. As May 1 approaches, immigrant rights groups across the country have been working feverishly to plan for what they are calling "A Day Without Immigrants," full of rallies, vigils, marches, strikes and boycotts. But a schism is growing among many of the day's organizers on how militant the message should be -- whether they should encourage people to skip school, refuse to work and boycott local stores. On Monday, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, a fierce proponent of immigrant rights, released a statement encouraging his city's constituents to attend a city rally in the evening rather than abandon their posts on May 1; he even suggests bosses allot time for immigration discussions on the clock. According to Mahony's statement, students should "understand that boycotting school on May 1st will not bring about just and humane immigration reform -- sometimes, boycotts could even work against positive reform."
With news of lay-offs for workers and suspensions for students who attend rallies, some worry, and they have a good reason--will they be welcomed back after May 1st?
Some groups are choosing to avoid boycotting because they don't want to hurt the economy. Other groups feel that to "keep Democrats' feet to the fire," a day-long economic boycott and general strike is the only solution.
This woman worries about the same thing I worry over:
Many organizers who will not boycott believe that the movement is too young for such a radical display. "The action can't be for action's sake," says Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. She says she is concerned a boycott will not help the American public embrace immigrants, but could have much the opposite effect. "We have to be critical of our actions because at the end of the day, we have a long haul."
Tags: [immigrants' rights], [immigrants' rights groups planning day of national boycott], [Day Without Immigrants], [May 1], [Day Without Immigrants to include rallies, vigils, boycotts, strikes, and marches], [support immigrants' rights]
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