Latino Groups Divided over Another Boycott

In San Diego County, however, activists are mulling whether they will support the boycott, which last year deeply divided Latino groups and immigrants themselves.

This division was evident as members of the March 25 Coalition of Los Angeles kicked off the campaign for this year's boycott on the defensive.

“Unity is going to come about from the majority of the (Latino) groups,” promised Javier Rodríguez, who was a key organizer of a march last year in downtown Los Angeles that turned out more than 500,000 people.

The conference last weekend at Loyola Law School drew Latino activists and members of anti-war, environmental, political and human rights organizations.

Some activists already are critical of the proposed boycott and labor strike, labeling it as immature and counterproductive. They argue that the political situation is different this year with Democrats in control of Congress.

“A strike is premature because you don't know what's going to happen in May,” said Ben Monterroso of the Service Employees International Union and the We Are America Coalition, two organizations that did not participate in conference.

Expectations are high that Congress will attempt to pass an immigration reform bill this year. Although it is not clear when they would begin the reform debate, many say it will happen before August.

The movement that supports what is called the comprehensive approach to immigration policy is complex and includes religious, social, political and economic interests.

The March 25 Coalition, based in Los Angeles, seeks the unconditional legalization of all undocumented immigrants and rejects a guest-worker program.

The We Are America Coalition is composed of religious groups and labor unions. Its members support a plan that would allow immigrants to become guest workers and some to eventually earn citizenship if they met some requirements, such as pay back taxes and penalties.

A third strong current within the movement is made up of well-known Latino organizations, such as the National Council of La Raza, the William C. Velasquez Institute and the Tomas Rivera Institute. Their strategy is to organize Latinos to focus not only on immigration, but also on the educational, economic and environmental problems people face.

Last year's strike proved controversial because the We Are America Coalition, the Catholic Church and high-profile leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa openly opposed it. They argued that it could cause problems for workers and students and generate resentment toward immigrants.

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