Boycott losing support

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.

The groups, led by activist Nativo Lopez, planned to give businesses signs that showed opposition to the immigration plan. They expected to on April 1 begin boycotting businesses that didn’t display the sign.

But business owners apparently aren’t putting up the signs or supporting the boycott.

Lopez said Tuesday that about 5,000 signs have been handed out, but he is not asking businesses to put them up because of concerns about retaliation against shop owners who post the signs.

Local business owners said they’ve already suffered a loss of sales because people are afraid the city is enforcing immigration laws now. They fear that putting up a divisive sign could make things worse.

“At this time I don’t think that that will be something any business wants to do,” said Mirna Burciaga, who owns El Chinaco restaurant and initially supported the coalition that proposed the boycott. “They say, ‘We’re not here to try to involve [ourselves] in any kind of politics. We’re here to make a living.’”

In letters to the Daily Pilot, some have said they will avoid businesses that post the sign.

Burciaga instead created her own friendlier sign that’s now in the windows of her restaurant. She and other community leaders are asking business owners to sign a letter opposing the immigration enforcement proposal.

The letter asks the City Council to suspend the immigration enforcement plan and instead have a meaningful discussion with the community about how to make the community safer.

It also stresses the importance of residents cooperating with police, which counters Lopez’s call for civil disobedience.

About 50 business owners have signed the letter, and as many more are expected to add their names in the coming weeks, said Ivan Calderon, owner of the Taco Mesa and Taco Rosa restaurants.

“We all want a safe community; we all want to fight criminals,” he said, but the council’s plan isn’t the best way to address those issues.

Businesses also will offer fliers in English and Spanish explaining that the city has not started enforcing immigration laws and that the plan will target people who have committed crimes and are here illegally.

Despite the apparent lack of support, Lopez stopped short of calling off the boycott. He said he still plans an April 1 protest at Costa Mesa City Hall.

“The prospect of a boycott is very good, unless the [immigration] policy is revoked April 1,” he said.dpt.08-boycott-CPhotoInfo3I1ON77P20060308ivs7i5knDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Mirna Burciaga, owner of El Chinaco on West 19th Street in Costa Mesa, stands next to a sign she designed with her husband as an alternate to boycott-supporting signs. She has placed her signs in the windows of her restaurant.