A Day Without Immigrants
Monday, May 1, was “A Day Without immigrants Day”, a continuation of events, marches, and rallys put on by immigration rights activists around the country in response to legislation passed by the House that would make illegal entry into the U.S. a felony, and anyone helping these folks subject to felony prosecution. Was there much participation in these events? Did it make any difference? Well, It depends on what part of the country you were in. Some places like Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles had huge rallys, while other places like Topeka, Kansas, parts of Texas and Florida, and here in Washington, DC, things were pretty normal. In fact, here in DC, the immigrant community was divided. While some leaders wanted to have mass rallys, boycotts, school walk-outs, and job no-shows, many other leaders cautioned against these activities for various reasons, among them, a potential backlash resulting in anti-immigrant sentiments and actions. Therefore, participation was spotty, at best. In Northern Virginia, many construction sites were deserted because their Hispanic employees took the day off. A high percentage of Hispanic students did not attend school, and most businesses ownd by, or who employed large numbers of Hispanics were closed.
In the District, it all depended on the neighborhood. In areas with large Hispanic populations, many businesses were closed, but in more diverse areas, it was business as usual. Indeed, based on what I saw and heard, the response to Monday went solidly along ethnic and immigration status lines. For example, my neighborhood in Upper Northwest, and area called Chevy Chase, is a white collar, extremely diverse area with immigrants from all over the world, but mostly from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Literally no one who was not of Hispanic descent supported or participated in Monday’s events, and some were even resentful of illegal immigrants. Among Hispanics in my neighborhood, it all came down to status. Folks who were native born, or legal shared similar sentiments as the rest of the neighbors, but folks who were undocumented supported the events, but felt that it was impractical for them to participate. In my building, which also has a large immigrant population among its tenants, staff, and vendors, it was an ordinary day. We tenants had received a notice the previous Friday regarding the upcoming events, assuring us that all of the staff would be present for work, and arrangements had already been made with our vendors in case of absentee workers. As usual, our staff were on duty.
How did I feel about A Day Without Immigrants? As the daughter of an immigrant, I had mixed feelings. IWhile I feel that undocumented people who have been here for more than 5 years should have the right to become legal, and that the legalization process should be streamlined and equal for all, I did not agree with Monday’s events. I feel that boycotting businesses, and skipping school and work will do nothing but cause a backlash against the immigrant commuity, particularly undocumented immigrants. Indeed, it may have already begun. There were several anti-immigration rallys in various parts of the country, and some activists have even started a drive to send their congresspeople bricks in the mail, a symbol of their support of a security wall, or fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. I am afraid that this backlash will only get stronger and uglier. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail.