Serene Assir reviews the Latin American migrants' collective boycott on Labour Day On 1 May, compounding their struggle and collective action to secure their rights in the United States and to fight a proposed bill that would effectively criminalise the presence of illegal migrants, Latin American immigrants took a decisive step by boycotting work, schools and, in effect, any public service, in an attempt to prove how essential they are to the national economy. Calling the boycott "a day without immigrants", Latin American migrants -- legal and otherwise -- marched in solidarity with hundreds of others, including community, political and religious leaders, across major US cities in protest of attempts to criminalise illegal migrants. Reportedly, many businesses and schools were forced to shut down for the day for sheer lack of attendees, while others voluntarily closed down in order to further push the demonstrators' agenda. According to La Opinion, a leading Spanish-language daily in the US, religious and social associations, as well as a large number of businesses chose to support the idea of the national boycott, in defiance of the economic losses they would naturally incur as a result. Ideas and support for action have "continued to grow like a snowball," a report by Agustin Duran in La Opinion read. Meanwhile, according to a report by Spanish news agency EFE and republished in US Spanish-language paper La Raza, 1 May saw thousands of protesters take to the streets in cities as far apart in both size and population as Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago on the one hand, and Paso on the other. "In New York, the protesters, among whom was Democrat lawmaker Jose Serrano, formed 'human chains', while the nearby open-air market ... was empty," the report read. "The aim was to prove to public opinion that immigrants, far from constituting a public burden, contribute to the country's economic development." And in Rebelion, a Spanish-language online site dedicated to publishing opinion and investigative articles of social interest, a translated article by prominent writer James Petras ran, in which he indicates that demonstrations from 26 March to date have come to constitute the largest and best supported workers' protests in US history. He also argues that although the immediate demand of the protesters is the legalisation of migrant workers, there is also an underlying cause for the magnitude of support the demonstrators have received -- namely that much of the US's own exploitation of the economies of countries from which migrants originate gave way to the current untenable situation of workers in South America. Hence the call made by immigrants extends into history, and into a demand for their rights as workers. And this time, the call is being made where the problem began.
