Resolution Leads
Many to Shop Outside County
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY (By
Pamela Constable, Washington Post) August 28, 2007 — Maria
Rivera, a hotel maid from Woodbridge, drove her two
daughters to Lorton last weekend to buy school supplies.
Juan Padilla, who owns a tropical-themed restaurant in
Manassas, purchased all his cooking ingredients yesterday in
Fairfax County.
On the first day of a
one-week boycott called by immigrant groups in Prince
William County, both of these county residents said they
were shopping elsewhere to send a message that Hispanic
immigrants are an important, unified economic force and
can't be intimidated.
"They used us Hispanics to
build this county, and now they are trying to kick us out.
It's not fair," fumed Padilla, 28, a legal immigrant from El
Salvador. On the window of his restaurant, La Laguna, was a
large green poster that read, "We Are A Pro-Immigrant
Business. Rescind the Prince William County Anti-Immigrant
Resolution."
The boycott is a protest
against a resolution, passed unanimously by the Board of
County Supervisors in July, to deny many public services to
illegal immigrants and empower police and other officials to
question immigrants about their legal status and in some
cases turn them over to federal immigration authorities.
County officials are
studying how to implement the resolution, the result of
widespread concern among longtime residents who think that
the rapid influx of Hispanic immigrants, including many who
are illegal, has increased crime and blight in the area and
created a heavy burden on public services.
Several activists who
support the resolution said that the boycott is bound to
fail and that its only effect would be to pressure Hispanic
business owners into conformity with a radical agenda by
some groups to push the rights of illegal immigrants.
"They don't have a prayer
of reversing this resolution, which has the support of 80
percent of county residents," said Greg Letiecq, an activist
who heads Help Save Manassas. "This is an attempt to bully
immigrant businesses."
Board Chairman Corey A.
Stewart (R-At Large) also said the boycott would have little
impact.
"I think it's going to have
no effect whatsoever," he said. "It just strengthens our
resolve and reaffirms that we're doing the right thing," he
said. "And it confirms that illegal immigrants and their
support groups have no respect for our community or the rule
of law. It's just going to inflame people and make people
that much more upset with illegal immigration."
The boycott has both
galvanized and divided the county's large Hispanic population,
which has tripled in the past decade and is now estimated at
30,000. One group, Mexicans Without Borders, hopes economic
pressure will stop the measure. Another, headed by several
Hispanic businessmen, opposes the boycott and seeks peaceful
negotiations with county leaders.
There was no way to
determine yesterday how many immigrants had observed the
opening day of the boycott, which targeted all
non-immigrant-owned businesses, including such chains as
Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Giant supermarket as well as gas
stations and convenience stores.
Boycott organizers said
they had placed more than 350 of the green posters in
businesses throughout the county, signifying that the store
managers or owners are sympathetic — or at least do not want
to lose their immigrant customers.
A demonstration at Potomac
Mills shopping center drew fewer than 100 people, who stood
under a broiling afternoon sun yesterday and held aloft
placards calling for immigrant rights. Some passing drivers
honked in support; others swore or made insulting gestures.
In interviews in Manassas
and Woodbridge, several dozen Hispanics said they supported
the boycott, and some were indignant about the way they feel
immigrants have been treated in the county. Only two or
three said they did not know about the boycott.
"I am only buying in
Hispanic stores this week. I am a resident now, but I am
still an immigrant, and it is not good what they are trying
to do," said Abel Santiago, 28, a Mexican restaurant worker
who complained that he had been stopped and asked for
identification recently. "We feel so much hate and
resentment now. But we should have our rights, too."
Rivera, the hotel worker
who attended the demonstration at Potomac Mills, said she
was also a legal resident but was angry at the proposals
aimed at driving out illegal immigrants. She said she
decided to participate after hearing about the boycott
through her church.
"They don't want our
children in the schools. They don't want people renting to
immigrants. They want to ask for families' ID cards in
parks. This is wrong, and we do not accept it," she said.
