May First: Great American Boycott!

Immigration activists call for nationwide boycott

April 5, 2006

By MICHAEL DOYLE McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Immigrant advocates called Tuesday for a nationwide boycott of jobs and schools on May 1, even as senators appeared stymied in their efforts to finish the immigration bill that’s provoking controversy.

The proposed “Great American Boycott of 2006” is being organized by some of the same activists who rallied an estimated half a million demonstrators in Los Angeles on March 25. Now, in a bid to show nationwide clout, they want immigrants and supporters to avoid work, school, buying and selling on May 1.

“We realize that we have been absent from the political debate in Washington, although we are the voices of those most affected by the legislation,” Juan Jose Gutierrez, director of Latino Movement USA, said at a Washington news conference.

The nationwide boycott is also being organized through the ANSWER Coalition, whose member groups range from the Free Palestine Alliance to the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Korea Truth Coalition.

The boycott, along with upcoming nationwide rallies scheduled for April 10, represent the loudest aspect of a debate that has meandered on Capitol Hill for the past week. On Tuesday, despite some ongoing Republican compromise negotiations, increasingly irritated senators acknowledged they lack the 60 votes necessary to pass legislation.

“I’m very frustrated right now,” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist conceded early Tuesday evening, adding, “We’re making no progress whatsoever.”

Eight hours of debate Tuesday, interrupted by frequent quorum calls, did not result in any substantive progress and yielded only one, symbolic, vote.

One hundred amendments still await action, prompting some senators — including Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas — to suggest that the Senate might have to postpone action until after a two-week April recess now scheduled to start Saturday. Throughout most of Tuesday, Democrats used the Senate’s procedural rules to block voting on amendments.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid complained, in turn, about past Republican intransigence on issues like the minimum wage. He insisted Democrats would block amendments that “damage the integrity” of the 478-page bill.

“We’re still looking to find the magic formula,” Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida allowed Tuesday afternoon.

Martinez has begun seeking a compromise deal with Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a potential 2008 presidential candidate. Still a work in progress, their proposal would treat illegal immigrants differently depending on how long they have been in the United States.

Illegal immigrants who could prove they had lived in this country for at least five years could obtain legal U.S. residency under the newest proposal. Newer immigrants would have to first return, even if briefly, to their home country.

“We’re not anywhere near a final agreement,” Hagel said, but “I think we’re moving along here.”

The immigration bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee would not differentiate among the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States. All could seek legal U.S. status good for six years, if they met certain requirements. They would face background checks and pay fines starting at $1,000. Eventually, by paying an additional $1,000, taking a medical exam, paying back taxes and meeting other requirements, they could obtain permanent U.S. residency.

Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, a chief proponent of the legalization effort, dismissed the latest Republican compromise proposal as one that “doesn’t make a great deal of sense.”