Opposition
Republican congressman Tom Tancredo stated that "The iron triangle of illegal employers, foreign governments and (interest) groups ... puts tremendous pressure on our elected officials to violate the desires of law-abiding Americans. As nearly every recent poll shows, Americans want secure borders -- not amnesty -- and sooner or later they'll elect representatives who will listen to their constituents."
Counter-demonstrations took place in various cities to coincide with the day's events, although they were mostly small in size. Some encouraged their members to buy from American businesses to offset the economic impact of the boycott. Among them are the Southern California talk radio hosts John and Ken, who called for "The Great American Spend-a-Lot", a contest with prizes for listeners who spent the most money.
The volunteer border security Minuteman Project, which has organized citizens' patrols along the US-Mexican border to monitor and deter illegal immigration, hosted rallies across the country, starting on Wednesday, May 3 in Los Angeles. They also began constructing a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) barbed wire fence along the border in Arizona. According to Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist, "It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag. This will backfire."
A new group, the 'You Don't Speak For Me' coalition, was formed in response to the boycott to challenge the notion that May 1 protesters speak on behalf of all Hispanics. According to former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Pete Nunez, who is the group's spokesperson, "Millions of Hispanic-Americans -- including many who have gone through the immigration process the right way -- are offended by the demands being made by people who have broken our nation's laws."
CNN's Lou Dobbs, criticized the boycott for its promotion by groups such as the radical protest organization ANSWER, (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Dobbs also stated that "It is no accident that they chose May 1 as their day of demonstration and boycott. It is the worldwide day of commemorative demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and even anarchic organizations."
The Washington Post suggested that the May 2 ouster of the mayor and two council members in the town of Herndon, Virginia who had suffered criticism for their support of a day-labor center was a negative reaction to the Boycott. Some Southern and Western states drew up new tougher anti-illegal immigration laws. The Post also credited backlash from the Boycott support in the Arizona legislature for the passage of laws penalizing businesses who hire illegal immigrants and on other crimes associated with illegal immigration. Georgia has also since passed a law, which took effect in 2007, that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving many social services and requires police and employers to report illegal workers to the Immigration Service.
Fox News's Sean Hannity asked "Why is it that so many people who didn't respect our laws and our sovereignty are demanding for the right to stay here, demanding for the right to jump in front of other people who are going through the process properly, and those that disagree are being called racist and bigoted?"
According to an editorial by conservative commentator, Cinnamon Stillwell of the San Francisco Chronicle, "The one thing the boycott did achieve was to expose the lie that the country cannot function without the labor of illegal immigrants. While some may have been inconvenienced by the experience, the economy hardly came to a grinding halt. It seems there are still some jobs Americans are willing to do."
Read more about this topic: Great American Boycott
Famous quotes containing the word opposition:
“The opposition is indispensable. A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, always learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“Commitment, by its nature, frees us from ourselves and, while it stands us in opposition to some, it joins us with others similarly committed. Commitment moves us from the mirror trap of the self absorbed with the self to the freedom of a community of shared values.”
—Michael Lewis (late 20th century)
“Women will not advance except by joining together in cooperative action.... Unlike other groups, women do not need to set affiliation and strength in opposition one against the other. We can readily integrate the two, search for more and better ways to use affiliation to enhance strength—and strength to enhance affiliation.”
—Jean Baker Miller (20th century)