Shutdown to show their power

Businesses to close and workers to stay home for 'Day Without Immigrants,' part of national effort to amend legislation

BY BART JONES | Newsday Staff Writer

April 30, 2006

Nelson Hernandez was just a teenager when he fled El Salvador's civil war two decades ago with his family and settled on Long Island as an undocumented immigrant.

Tomorrow, he plans to shut down his real estate business in Hempstead as part of a national economic boycott aimed at pressuring lawmakers in Washington to reform federal immigration laws.

"I was in the same position millions of them are in right now," said Hernandez, 35, who is now a U.S. citizen. He hopes that the worker strike and consumer boycott scheduled for today across the country "will show lawmakers we have economic power."

It's unclear how widespread the "Day Without Immigrants" boycott and accompanying street rallies will be, but activists predict that, despite only three weeks of organizing, the turnout will be significant on Long Island and throughout the nation. Restaurants, delis, beauty parlors, travel agencies and other businesses plan to close for the day, local organizers said, supported by students who will stay out of classes.

"The workers want to participate. There's a great desire to take part," said Carlos Canales of the Hempstead-based Workplace Project, an immigrant advocacy group and one of the lead organizers of the boycott on Long Island.

He said there will be a rally at 11 a.m. in Hempstead he hopes will attract a large crowd of supporters. For his part, Hernandez said he is in touch with 150 other business owners in the Hempstead area, and that he believes the vast majority will close for the day.

Still, many workers say they are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't show up for work, and some business owners are reluctant to sacrifice a day's income. Some social agencies, church groups, unions and Latino advocacy organizations have sent mixed messages about supporting the boycott.

Eduardo Pabon, owner of Mi Tierrita, one of the most popular Latino restaurants in Brentwood, said he doesn't want to close, but won't know for sure if he can stay open until Monday when he sees how many employees show up.

"If the strike is very strong," he said in Spanish, "I'll have to close."

The boycott is aimed at pushing Congress to provide a path to legal status for the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants and a legal channel for hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers to enter the country each year. Activists also want lawmakers to abandon bills that would turn undocumented immigrants into felons and call for construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In New York City, immigrants and their allies say they will form human chains at noon in all five boroughs. At Stony Brook University, student organizer Samuel Darguin and other classmates said they will skip classes.

Some politicians say they will support the boycott. Nassau County Legis. David Mejias (D-Massapequa) said he plans to close his law office in Hempstead out of respect for the Latino community.

"This is a show of solidarity," said Mejias, adding that he also closes his business on Martin Luther King day.