By John Earl

A coalition of immigrant rights advocates and union leaders has called for a boycott of Costa Mesa businesses to pressure the city council to cancel a plan that would train police officers to check the immigration status of suspected felons and report “illegal” immigrants for subsequent deportation. The group, which calls itself Citizens for Constitutional Rights, says that the city's plan is motivated by racism and is terrorizing imm
igrants living in the city.

The coalition made the announcement at a press conference on February 2 in front of Costa Mesa City Hall.

The group is also calling for non-violent civil disobedience “by not cooperating with police officers” and a mass demonstration at City Hall on April 1st by “all who cherish the Constitution” and will defend it from “malignant political forces who are purveyors of hate and seek to divide our communities,” said spokesperson Nativo Lopez.

Lopez is national director of the Mexican American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana.

The “malignant” forces referred to are (Minuteman) Mayor Allan Mansoor and Costa Mesa city council members Eric Bever and Gary Monahan, as well as local white supremacist Martin H. Millard. CCR alleges that the four have worked in tandem to push a racist agenda directed at Chicanos, including the closure of a human relations committee that dealt with racism and a day labor center that served immigrants for 17 years.

The coalition also seeks to stop a similar plan by Orange County Sheriff Juan Corona, which the Costa Mesa proposal is modeled after. Both plans were watered down from their original design. Mayor Mansoor's original plan allowed for police officers to inquire for the legal immigration status of anyone suspected of a crime, even jay-walking.

The coalition announced that upon a request from many Costa Mesa businesses owners it has agreed to a 60-day grace period. In the meantime, CCR will offer signs proclaiming opposition to the “Corona-Mansoor Police-Migra Plan” to all Costa Mesa businesses owners. Those who do not display the sign in their store or office windows at the end of the 60-day period will be subject to the boycott. “The life of all will not continue as usual when the life of some becomes unbearable,” Lopez said, adding that Hermandad Mexicana hear's everyday from immigrants who are “absolutely terrorized” by what he called the Mansoor Minuteman Plan.

Replying to an assertion that the CCR will be picking on innocent businesses that might want to stay neutral so as not to offend customers on either side and lose money, Lopez said that neutrality is not an option for anyone when some face injustice. “Life does not provide us with the opportunity to be absolutely neutral...There should be not be any silent Germans in Costa Mesa,” he said, referring to Germans whose silence helped Hitler proclaim the criminality of people identified as Jews, gays, gypsies, communists and others and justify their subsequent mass slaughter.


The Nazi reference seems apropos considering the alleged past political ties between Neo-Nazi author Martin H. Millard, the Mayor and city council members Eric Bever and Gary Monahan. Humberto Caspa, a journalist who previously wrote for the Daily Pilot and currently writes for La Opinion, has followed that relationship closely. He says that Millard is behind the successful efforts of the Mansoor majority on the city council to ban adult (i.e. Mexican) soccer in public schools and close the Human Relations Committee (which supported tolerance and diversity in the city) without consulting the community.

Millard was the person of choice by the Mansoor council majority who appointed him to a redevelopment and community advisory board as a full member in 2004 and, as such, “has been a fundamental piece of rock in the Westside Redevelopment Oversight Committee” which makes recommendations that could affect the heavily immigrant population living there.

Caspa wonders why a white supremacist was every appointed to the board in the first place. “It's like President Bush appointing David Duke to the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Caspa says. “It's not about immigration. It is about minority groups. It is about the people who have no say in this government. They don't want us here. Not only do they not want us here, but they also want to kick us out.”

Representatives of the following groups also spoke at the press conference.

� Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana
� Mexican American Political Association
� SEIU Local 1877
� AFSCME Local 3299
� UFCW Local 324
� Los Amigos of Orange County
� Federacion de Clubes y Casas Guanajuatenses
� Orange County Community Forum

Some reaction to the boycott call, in brief:

The reaction to the economic boycott call has been mixed. The Colectivo Tonantzin, which first started grass roots organizing in the Chicano communities targeted by Costa Mesa's immigrant rights crackdown has endorsed the economic boycott but will not become directly involved in activities conducted by the CCR. Instead, the Colectivo is currently conducting its own targeted boycott of council member Gary Monahan's restaurant business at 2000 Newport Blvd. It is also planning forums to educate the community about the ICE program, as well as a festival and march from the Westside to the South Coast Plaza. The Colectivo voted not to support the police boycott.

Almost 700 Costa Mesa business owners oppose the economic boycott but also have signed a petition calling for withdrawal of the ICE proposal.

To see video and hear audio of the press conference speakers, please go to: http://www.ocorganizer.com/html/boycott.html

So enforcing the law wherein certain proceedures are followed to allow admittance to the U.S. makes one a nazi? You are going off the deep end on this one. The mexicans can simply follow the immegration laws like other people do and there will be no problem.

I know this boycott is going to be a hilarious flop. It would be much better if all the illegal aliens went on strike and didn't show up for work and kept their kids home from school for the entire summer. Show Costa Mesa how powerful the illegal aliens are and how much Costa Mesa needs them. Stay in your homes and never come out.

Good grief. All pretence of intelligence and reason have been set aside, hasn't it. (Rhetorical question. No need to respond.)

First off, boycotts don't work.

Second, demanding that shop owners to display a note of ideological fealty is dumb and something that fascists or terrorists would be expected of demanding, not people struggleing for equal rights or Civil rights.

Third, most store owners will never hear of this, and all who do are going to wonder if they're going to be the targets of crime if they don't comply with the demand to display a note. Of those who _do_ comply, the only question is if they did so out of fear of retaliation if they didn't.

Even worse: The notion that there's no such thing as neutrality. You know who makes that claim? That nobody's neutral? That you're either with us or with the enemy? TERRORIST FASCISTS make that kind of claim, not people struggleing for equality or Civil rights.

I've watched this stupidity go on since it started, standing there among the anti-racists even though I firmly oppose illegal immigration because racism is far worse than illegals sneaking across the borders.

Now I'm seeing a profound escalation in stupidity among the anti-racists.

Count me out, brother. I'm done. All sides have finally achieved the nervana of utter stupidity.

My opinions only and only my opinions.

Plz shoot me or pinch me, as I am 99% on the same page as Fred Rice !

Go for it John Earl and company...you are only making yourselves look like extremists

Where can I see that petition you claim to have showing "almost 700 businesses" in Costa Mesa that have signed your petition against Costa Mesas recent decesion to check the status of felons? Is it posted somewhere? What is the point of a secret petition? No duubt published at Selfservingstatistics.com

Wow Frederic Rice has disowned you. Maybe that should give you some idea of how extremist you really are.

well suffice to say the feeling is mutual and leave it at that

Fred Rice said he was a centrist a long time ago. He's still a centrist. The situation just got more polarized.

The first big move was the MMP. Let's say they took the issue from point zero to point -1.

Tactically, their opposition (the coalition of groups opposing the MMP) has to move their position to point +1 to keep the center at 0. If they remained moderate, and moved to, say point +0.5, the center would have moved into the negatives.

Eventually, all the centrists may fall away, including Jammer CC, and maybe even the Pachuco and Rockero420. When it comes time to vote, we'll all probably vote the same, but when it's time to demonstrate, the real leftists are just going to be less moderate than the moderate liberals.

Which is exactly as it should be. Someone has to be idealistic about things like human rights, equality of all workers, and the defense of the poor.

After arriving in Boston 24 years ago, John Correia went looking for his first job in the United States. As a Brazilian immigrant who didn't speak English, Correia's options were limited. He was accepted for a position as a part-time night shift janitor for UNICCO, a Newton-based company that outsources its 20,000 North American employees to Simon malls, museums, office buildings, Logan, Miami, TF green airports and other sites in cities across the U.S. and Canada.with partners Equity Office,Simon Malls,Simon MT NETWORKS,Building Owners Managers Asociation,Service Employee International Union,Elcom

Correia is now the vice president of UNICCO's New England operations, supervising 6,000 employees who clean the State House, run all the support systems at Fleet Bank's headquarters in downtown Boston now Bank of America, make sure the football fans at Gillette stadium have lights in the stands and ensure that visitors to the Boston Aquarium and the Museum of Science

With its diversity of jobs, UNICCO offers opportunities for new arrivals to the United States as well as advancement for established trades people and professionals. "Some of our jobs you don't need to speak English," with Carlos da Silva SEIU local 254/615.says Correia. "They're ideal for people who need to earn income while they're learning English; and most of our supervisors and managers speak multiple languages."

Hello everyone. My name is Troy Fergus and I work for Allied Security. My primary site is at Harvard University. On April 4th, me and other security officers attended our first meeting with community and elected officials to discuss our efforts to form a union local 615
When I first got there I had no idea the support we had from politicians would be so strong. Boston city councilors Felix Arroyo, Chuck Turner, and Charles Yancey Sen. Jarret Barrios, D-Cambridge, the lead sponsor of one of the civil union bills, said it's an issue of "fairness and justice."

"The people of Massachusetts are fair-minded," said Barrios, who is gay. "The question is will our Legislature and governor allow fairness to come to the fore this legislative session." said they were behind us 100%. Leaders from Jews interfaiths said that they too were behind what we were doing. It’s encouraging and it’s also essential to know that by having a union, we are not only helping ourselves, but our company as well.



A private company that has been owned by the same family for more than 50 years, UNICCO sees its greatest resource as its people. "The employment side of UNICCO is key," says Correia. "The core of what we sell is people. Our revenue is all driven by outsourcing, so I think the quality of our employees is what matters
Allies and endorsers: AFSC/Proyecto Voz; Brazilian Immigrant Center; Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign; City Life/Vida Urbana; Chelsea Human Services Collaborative; Boston CISPES; EBECC; Instituto Salvadoreño de Educación y Cultura (ISEDUC); Latin American Council for Latino Labor Advancement; Massachusetts Jobs with Justice; Massachusetts Legalization Coalition; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA); SEIU Local 615; SEIU Local 2020; Tekiah: A Jewish Call to Action; Unite HERE, Local 26; United for a Fair Economy


by F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,
and his colleagues ... Funds From Operations Surge at Mall Owner Simon Property,Equity Office,Simon BusinessTM,SEIU,Building Owners Managers Asociation.
www.maddash.net - UNICCO Video Library
Moved by F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and his colleagues, the bill also calls for giving more discretionary powers to judges for denying asylum claims.
The movers have also sought more powers to clamp down on immigrants living and working in the US"The employment side of UNICCO is key," says Correia. "The core of what we sell is people. Our revenue is all driven by outsourcing, so I think the quality of our employees is what matters

www.seiu615.org/onthejob/j4j/index.cfm
Saenz, one of a family of nine, arrived as a young woman from Mexico in 1986 hoping to study. "That was the wish - and then I hit reality," she says now. She had to settle for work cleaning houses and baby-sitting and eventually decided to look for slightly better paid employment in LA's garment industry. She approached the local garment workers' union so that they could direct her to a factory that at least paid the basic rates, and they thought she was looking for work in the union itself. Through this misunderstanding she found herself making banners Kerry/ Edwards Democratic National Convention Boston and gradually being drawn into the world of the unions. "Until then I only knew the horrible side of the US but when I started to go out organising with these people it was: 'Wow! Incredible!' - it was another world."
"undocumented" - illegally in the country and thus unable to complain. So Saenz found herself as an organiser with the Service Employee International Union in what became known as the Justice for Janitors' campaign. This hit the headlines in June 1990 when riot police attacked one of their marches in Century City and 60 marchers were hospitalised after bloody scenes. Amidst the ensuing public dismay at the violence, which was shown on television, 2,000 Justice for Janitors Day: Origins
Yes, the World Jewish Congress declared war on Germany in 1933.Mexican People 1990, 2001.
How they carried out that war after that is still a question of great controversy and further work by history researchers, even today.
The World Jewish Congress called for an economic boycott of German goods & services
Another questioner above posted a question about the book __Germany Must Perish!__, which is also a related case study to this question, since this book was published before the official start of Germany's war with England and France

Justice for Janitors Day was established after janitors in Los Angeles were beaten by police during a peaceful demonstration against the cleaning contractor ISS, on June 15, 1990. The public outrage that generated from this incident resulted in ISS agreeing to recognize L.A. janitors in a union.
ISS (International Service Systems) is a global corporation headquartered in
Denmark and is the largest cleaning contractor
In remembrance of that day, SEIU janitors and supporters take action every June 15 in cities nationwide and in countries around the world.
Campaigns
www.ihlo.org

Hello everyone. My name is Troy Fergus and I work for Allied Security. My primary site is at Harvard University. On April 4th, me and other security officers attended our first meeting with community and elected officials to discuss our efforts to form a union local 615
When I first got there I had no idea the support we had from politicians would be so strong. Boston city councilors Felix Arroyo, Chuck Turner, and Charles Yancey Sen. Jarret Barrios, D-Cambridge, the lead sponsor of one of the civil union bills, said it's an issue of "fairness and justice."

"The people of Massachusetts are fair-minded," said Barrios, who is gay. "The question is will our Legislature and governor allow fairness to come to the fore this legislative session." said they were behind us 100%. Leaders from Jews interfaiths said that they too were behind what we were doing. It’s encouraging and it’s also essential to know that by having a union, we are not only helping ourselves, but our company as well.