Boycott

Immigrant-rights activists have rejected plans for an economic boycott of Costa Mesa businesses. A group of local labor unions and Latino activists in February called for a boycott to begin Saturday if the Costa Mesa City Council did not abandon its plan to train police for immigration enforcement. The council has not reversed its decision, but Santa Ana activist Nativo Lopez ? who led the group threatening the boycott ? issued a written statement at Saturday's protest rally in Costa Mesa canceling the boycott.

A proposed boycott of Costa Mesa businesses seems to be fizzling out before it even begins, as local business owners are distancing themselves from the movement and expressing their disagreement with city policies in other ways. The City Council on December voted, 3-2, to give police federal training to check the immigration status of people arrested on suspicion of felonies. If warranted, suspects could then be turned over to federal immigration authorities. In February, a group of local labor unions and Latino advocacy groups that oppose Costa Mesa's immigration enforcement plan called for a boycott of city businesses and civil disobedience by residents.

Businesses would prefer not to be drawn into battle over immigration enforcement.COSTA MESA -- Whether local merchants support or oppose the City Council's move to train police for immigration enforcement, there's one sentiment many seem to share: Don't drag us into a political battle. A coalition of labor, community and immigrant-rights groups announced plans last week for a business boycott in two months if the council doesn't drop the plan. The council in December decided, in a 3-2 vote, to have police trained to check the immigration status of people who are arrested for other crimes.

A local mom who wants parents to ride South Coast Plaza’s carousel Thursday instead of visiting Fashion Island said the one-day boycott will be an informal affair. Keree James, a mother of two, is organizing the boycott to protest the Irvine Co.’s plans to do away with a carousel at Fashion Island. James wants parents to ride the carousel at South Coast Plaza at any time of day Thursday in protest. There will be no planned demonstrations or speeches during the one-day event, she said.

Group opposed to city's immigration policy announces boycott, which local leaders call futile.A Santa Ana-based immigrant rights group that opposes Costa Mesa's immigration enforcement decision today planned to repeat its call for a boycott of Costa Mesa businesses and for civil disobedience. Local leaders disparaged the boycott plan as divisive and unproductive. Nativo Lopez, a spokesman for Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, first called for the boycott in late January.

A few more dirty cars than usual may have been cruising around Newport-Mesa on Monday, and those with a hankering for Mexican food may have had to settle for something else. But otherwise the effects of the national "day without immigrants" were muted here, with the region's major demonstration taking place in Los Angeles, and Santa Ana playing host to Orange County's biggest rallies. Congress is debating whether to crack down on illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them, or to offer a guest worker program to fill "jobs Americans won't do" ?

Candidate in House race objects to role of `far-left' League of Women Voters in the event tonight.Congressional candidate Jim Gilchrist, a member of the American Independent Party, on Monday said he will boycott a candidates' forum tonight because the League of Women Voters is a cosponsor of the event. Gilchrist is one of five candidates who will vie for the 48th District House seat in a Dec. 6 general election. In a statement, Gilchrist criticized the League of Women Voters for its "far-left agenda" and said the group was not an appropriate sponsor for the forum.

Council decision to have police enforce immigration laws could prove costly to city, local businesses.COSTA MESA -- An economic boycott is set to begin in 60 days if the City Council doesn't abandon plans to have police perform immigration checks on criminal suspects. That raises a new question: Will the policy have economic as well as social costs? A coalition of labor, community and immigrant-rights organizations on Thursday announced plans for the boycott and asked people to stop cooperating with Costa Mesa police as a protest against the immigration enforcement plan.

Following violent reactions by the Chinese government to protests in Tibet, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is calling more strongly than ever for the U.S. to boycott the Summer Olympics in Beijing this year. Rohrabacher has written a House resolution with 13 co-sponsors. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rohrabacher said the Chinese government was guilty of a ?brutal and unwarranted crackdown,? part of a history of suppressing dissent. Rohrabacher has scheduled a conference call for this morning to answer questions from the media about the resolution.

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake issued a statement Friday decrying a recent proposal by the British University and College Union to boycott Israeli academic institutions and scholars, saying he believes in a separation of politics and education. The union voted in May to consider boycotting Israeli academics due to the conflict with Palestine, although no official boycott has been implemented. In a statement posted on UCI's website, Drake said UCI had a number of valuable contacts with Israeli scholars and that the actions of the Israeli government, however controversial, should not interfere with the free exchange of ideas.

We have a lot of very bright people who read the Daily Pilot. I am wondering if someone could help me out. Apparently I do not have a clear understanding of the definition of "illegal immigration." My interpretation is "somebody who has entered a country illegally." According to my interpretation, the term means contravening a specific law, especially a criminal law. Why don't we eliminate the term "illegal immigration" and just continue with the free-for-all, which is the direction many of our esteemed lawmakers are taking us?

We have a lot of very bright people who read the Daily Pilot. I am wondering if someone could help me out. Apparently I do not have a clear understanding of the definition of “illegal immigration.” My interpretation is “somebody who has entered a country illegally.” According to my interpretation, the term means contravening a specific law, especially a criminal law. Why don’t we eliminate the term “illegal immigration” and just continue with the free-for-all, which is the direction many of our esteemed lawmakers are taking us?

A local mom who wants parents to ride South Coast Plaza’s carousel Thursday instead of visiting Fashion Island said the one-day boycott will be an informal affair. Keree James, a mother of two, is organizing the boycott to protest the Irvine Co.’s plans to do away with a carousel at Fashion Island. James wants parents to ride the carousel at South Coast Plaza at any time of day Thursday in protest. There will be no planned demonstrations or speeches during the one-day event, she said.

A local mom upset over the Irvine Co.’s plans to tear out a landmark carousel at Fashion Island is organizing a one-day boycott of the center at the height of the holiday shopping season. Keree James, a mother of two, wants parents to head to South Coast Plaza on Dec. 3 to ride the carousel instead of visiting Fashion Island. “Hopefully, this will show in one day what would happen if the carousel and other kid-friendly aspects of the shopping center are gone. The moms will go to South Coast Plaza,” James said.

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has formed a caucus in the House of Representatives to support Tibetans in the face of China’s crackdowns on unrest in the region. Rohrabacher and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) have founded the Tibetan Caucus, which seeks to oppose reported human rights violations by the Chinese government. “We urge you to join the Tibetan Caucus to uphold the rights of the Tibetan people and give a voice to those that the Chinese regime has silenced,” he and Abercrombie wrote in a letter to Congress.

Following violent reactions by the Chinese government to protests in Tibet, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is calling more strongly than ever for the U.S. to boycott the Summer Olympics in Beijing this year. Rohrabacher has written a House resolution with 13 co-sponsors. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rohrabacher said the Chinese government was guilty of a ?brutal and unwarranted crackdown,? part of a history of suppressing dissent. Rohrabacher has scheduled a conference call for this morning to answer questions from the media about the resolution.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia recently criticized President Bush’s plans to attend the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing. The Republican congressman argued that it would be like President Franklin D. Roosevelt attending Adolf Hitler’s Berlin Olympics in 1936. Wolf, who co-chairs a congressional caucus on Sudan, wants China to do more to push the Sudanese to halt the mass killings in Darfur. Director Steven Spielberg recently withdrew as artistic director of the Beijing Games because of China’s position on Darfur.

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake issued a statement Friday decrying a recent proposal by the British University and College Union to boycott Israeli academic institutions and scholars, saying he believes in a separation of politics and education. The union voted in May to consider boycotting Israeli academics due to the conflict with Palestine, although no official boycott has been implemented. In a statement posted on UCI's website, Drake said UCI had a number of valuable contacts with Israeli scholars and that the actions of the Israeli government, however controversial, should not interfere with the free exchange of ideas.