Danver Steven L. (Edited). Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia (ENG)

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to the world economy. The reduction in costs was seen as allowing people to have

more money to spend on other goods, and this in turn could stimulate other parts of

the economy, as well as providing employment for many people in third-world

countrie s. The result has certainly been the building of large factories, especially

garment factories, in some countries such as China, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Fiji,

where labor costs are much lower than in Western countries.

By contrast, there was also a rise during the 1990s of anti-globalization protest-

ers who saw the problem as reducing the wages in many countries that were

already poor. This became known as the “race to the bottom,” whereby the compe-

tition would be able to reduce wages, working conditions, and safety standards to

enable goods to be produced as cheaply as possible. News about industrial acci-

dents, ﬁres, and, in the case of China, allegations about the use of prison labor have

been particularly well covered in the Western media. The effect of all of this has

also seen the erosion of much of the work for low-skilled laborers i n Western

countries, often leading to long-term unemployment for many of them.

Although the “race to the bottom” was seen b y economists and some political

commentators as the most important negative side effect of globalization, many

of the demonst rators at Seattle and in protests at other WTO meetings, tended to

focus on the problems facing countries that had tried to resist cultural imperialism.

Globalization was seen to erode the cultures of many countries, causing increased

demand for western goods. This led to many anti-globalization protesters focusing

on the symbols of Western cultural imperialism, such as McDonalds, and Coca-

Cola. It later saw many demonstrators turning their attention on particular compa-

nies that were accused of exploiting third-world workers such as Nike, although in

the case of that company, it has shown that its workers are paid well in Indonesia

compared to those working in other similar factories in the same country.

—Justin Corﬁeld

Further Reading

Glyn, Andrew. Capitalism Unleashed: Finance, Globalizati on, and Welfare.NewYork:

Oxford University Press, 2006.

Mander, Jerry, and Edward Goldsm ith. The Case against the Global Economy: And for a

Turn Toward the Local. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.

Murray, Warwick E. Geographies of Globalization. New York: Routledge, 2006.

Osterhammel, Jurgen, and Niels Petersson. Globalization: A Short History. Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press, 2005.

1128 World Trade Organization Protests (1999)

Day without an Immigrant

(2006)

When students and workers walked out on May 1, 2006, in support of immigrant

rights, many businesses took notice. Between one million and 1.1 million people

left their jobs for Dia Sin Inmigrantes, “A Day without Immigrants,” a show of

immigrant strength intended to show legislators how much economic impact

immigrants have. The intent was to deter those seeking to tighten immigration,

build a wall along a third of the U.S.-Mexican border, and make illegal aliens

felons. In the back story of the May 1 demonstration, Michael Chertoff’s Immigra-

tion and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began a roundup of over 10,000 illegal

aliens and their employers in early April.

The House had earlier passed a bill with just those provisions, but the bill

stalled in the Senate, primarily over Democratic demands for som e rout e to citi-

zenship, what Republicans read as amnesty. Democrats did not like the felon pro-

vision or the f ence, and the president, George W. Bush, wanted a gu est worker

provision. Illegal immigrant workers were estimated at 7.2 million, or 4.9 percent

of the labor force. In farm work, undocumented immigrants were 24 percent of the

workforce, and they were 14 percent of construction workers. Fox News referred

to them as “illegal immigrants and their allies” in its coverage. Fox estimated the

number of illegal immigrants at 11 million.

The demonstrations and walkouts took place in New York; Washingt on; Las

Vegas, Nevada; Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; San

Francisco, Califor nia; Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona;

New Orleans, Louisiana; and Milwau kee, Wisconsin. Th e boycott included

school, work, and shopping. Some who worked bought nothing. Some protested

on lunch breaks or after work. Also on the agenda were picnics, human chains,

and candlelight vigils.

Chicago’s demonstrat ion had by various estimates 300,000 to 400,000 partici-

pants, and predominantly Hispanic schools in the city had attendance drops of 10

to 33 percent. The walkout was greater in the upper grades; school district ofﬁcials

estimated that 70–90 percent of students at predominantly Hispanic high schools

were absent. Demonstrators carried American and Mexican ﬂags and signs that

1129

read, “We build your homes,” as well as “We’re not terrorists.” Police were expect-

ing no violence, having worked with organizers, and no riot gear was issued.

As well as the 300,000 to 400,000 who turned out at Chicago, additional rallies

drew protesters in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Denver, and Houston as well as

50 smaller cities, even in South Dakota and Connecticut. The day was truly a

national event.

In New York City, a human chain to symbolize the day the immigration bill

passed the House, December 16, 2005, occurred at 12:16. Eight chains involved

12,000 people. In Los Angele s, about 200,000 people marched to City H all, and

400,000 turned out for an evening march. The marchers were peaceful and cheer-

ful. More than 72,000 6th to 12th graders skipped school.

San Francisco’s march of 55,000 included drums, Mexican and American ﬂags,

and a chant of “We are united.” Businesses in the predominantly Mexican Mission

neighborhood closed for the event. Other protests occurred in New Orleans, where

Hurricane Katrina had attracted immigrant labor and construction businesses shut

down for the day. Atlanta, Houston, Denver and other cities had relatively small

demonstrations. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, doubted the

efﬁcacy of the march. Richardson thought the protesters were sending the wrong

message: “come to America to work, yet they’re not working.” His preference

was for lobbying of Congress.

The hardest-hit industries were construction and nursery work. In Houston, some

companies reported t hat closing cost them $10,000. In Long Beach, California,

where 100 lunch trucks normally lined up outside California United Termi-

nals, only t hree or four appeared . Food processing companie s also felt the

impact. Tyson Foods had to close a dozen plants and reduced staff at others.

Perdue Farms closed eight of its 14 plants. Goya Foods delivered only in Florida.

Georgia’s Gold Kist poultry processor reported 400 of its 16,000 mostly Latin

American immigrant workers absent. E ven McDonald’s experi enced short staff-

ing. Workers who stayed on the job either could not afford to miss the pay or

feared they would be ﬁred. They included a ﬁsh processor and a park worker.

Hormel reported that its eight plants in Minnesota were operating normally.

In Washington, D.C., where the mood of the Congress was decidedly anti-

immigrant, a Hispanic-American coalition held a press conference to indicate that

the protesters were not representative of all Hispanics, particularly those who

made it legally. The anti-rally group in D.C., was called “You Don’t Speak for

Me.” Dan Stein, president of the Federa tion for American Immigration R eform,

organizer of the anti-rally group, said, “As the demands of illegal aliens and their

supporters become ever more shrilled and outrageous, the silent majority of

Americans are remaining silent no longer. We are proud and delight ed that will

give a voice to the millions of hard-working, law-abiding Hispanic Americans

1130 Day without an Immigrant (2006)

whose views are too often misrepresented.” M eanwhile a demonstration at

Washington’s Malcolm X Park attracted hundreds of protesters, and some restau-

rants and shops closed.

Other opponents were vocal in Colorado and Arizona. Houston, with 37 percent

of its two million people being Hi spanic , appeared to be turning away from sup-

port of immigrants. The 2006 Houston Area Survey showed 50 percent supporting

the 2,000-mile border fence if cost was not a factor. Also, Houstonians were over

50 percent in favor of reducing immigration for the ﬁrst time sin ce 1 998. In Pensacola,

Florida, retired Army colonel Jack Culberson said, “You should send all of the

13 millio n aliens home, then you take all of the welfare recipi ents who are taking

afreecheckandmakethemdothosejobs.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called on demonstrators to attend

mass rather than protest. The Chicago rally represented Arab, Asian , black, His-

panic, and Eastern European communities as well as labor and religious organiza-

tions. They asked students and workers to get permission to leave work or school

to attend the demonstration.

In Mexico City, video rental stores experienced a strong demand for “A D ay

Without a Mexican.” The movie got credit for inspiring the May 1 immigrant dem-

onstrations in the United States. Released in 2004, it depicted the problems that

California endured on a day when Mexicans (in general Latinos) w ere not avail-

able. Mexican unionists, lawmakers, and activists expressed their support for the

demonstrations in protest of the House’s stringent immigrant bill. Labor would

hold its traditional May Day demonstrations. Mexican groups urged support of the

U.S. effort through a boycott of U.S. products and businesses. The Vicente Fox

administration, which was working with Bush toward immigration reform before

9/11, indicated that it would not participate, but administrati on ofﬁcials had been

meeting with immigrant advocacy groups and were abreast of the situation.

The movie, by Mexican director Sergio Arau, shows California without its Lat-

inos, a third of its work force and a fourth of the population. After a day of confu-

sion and disorder, U.S. Border Patrol agents welcome migrants back with hugs

rather than detention. The movie is a comedy.

The day was not a universal success, but one goal was accomplished. It drew

attention to the presence of immigrants in the United States. Participation was less

clearly a success. Although over a million participated, the majority of them were

in just two cities, Los Angeles and Chicago. More typical were the turnouts in

Denver—75,000—and Houston, just 15,000. Congress did not pass the legislation,

but it passed no immigration reform legislation, either. Attempts to duplicate the

day proved ineffectual in 2007 and 2008, and a crackdown on illegal immigrants

accelerated in the waning months of the Bush administration.

—John H. Barnhill

Day without an Immigrant (2006) 1131

See also all entries under Stamp Act Protests (1765); Boston Massacre (1770); Regulator

Movement (1771); Pine Tree Riot (1772); Boston Tea Party (1773); Shays’ Rebellion

(1787); Whiskey Rebellion (1794); Brooks-Baxter War (1874); Plan de San Diego

(1915–1916); Green Corn Rebellion (1917); Zoot Suit Riots (1942); Battle of Athens

(1946); Sagebrush Rebellion (1979–1981); World Trade Organization Protests (1999).

Further Reading

Cevallos, Diego. “Labour Day: Mexico Backs ‘ Day without Immigrants.’ ” Oneworld,

April 30, 2006. http://us.oneworld.net/node/131905 (accessed July 18, 2010).

“A Day without Immigrants.” Fox News, May 1, 20 06, h ttp://www.foxnews.com/story/

0,2933,193761,00.html (acc essed July 18, 2010).

Hamilton, Anita. “Day without Immigrants: Making a Statement.” Time.com, May 1,

2006, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1189899,00.html (accessed

July 18, 2010).

Kahn, Carrie. “Impact Varies on ‘A Day withou t Immigrants.’ ” NPR, March 30, 2006,

http://www. npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5376023 (accesse d July 18,

2010).

“Thousands March for Immigra nt Rights: Schools, Bus iness es Feel I mpa ct as Studen ts,

Workers Walk Out.” CNN.com, May 1, 2006 , http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/01/

immigrant.day/index.html (accessed July 18, 2010).

1132 Day without an Immigrant (2006)

Undocumented Immigrants

An undocumented immigrant is a person in the United States without appropriate

paperwork—visa, green card, or other federal permission. They cross the borders

illegally, arrive as a to uris t or student and fail to leave, a nd establish themselves

as ordinary if illegal residents.

Opponents call them illegal aliens and claim that “undocumented immigrant” is

a politically correct bid for sympathy. Critics say illegal immigrants mock the

millions of legal immigrants who wait years to come, take 700,000 native jobs

annually, cost billions in welfare and social services, increase crime, and make

border enforcement impossible.

Andres McKenna Polling and Research reported in 2004 that 73 percent of

those surveyed deﬁned noncitizens as “illegal aliens,” while only 25 percent

preferred “undocumented workers.”

As of 2002, the number of undocumented immigrants was 9.3 million,

26 percent of the foreign-born population. Sixty percent were really undocumented;

40 percent overstayed their documentation. Fifty-seven percent (5.3 million) were

from Mexico, with another 23 percent from elsewhere in Latin America

1133

The old U.S.-Mexico border fence fades into the Pacific Ocean at Border Field State Park

near Tijuana, Mexico. (U.S. Army)

(2.2 million.) Asians comprised 10 percent, Europeans and Canadians 5 percent,

and the rest of the world another 5 percent. Six states are home to nearly two-

thirds of undocumented immigrants, with California having 26 percent, followed

by Texas at 12 percent, Florida at 10 percent, New York at 8 percent, and Illinois

and New Jersey at 4 percent. From the mid-1990s, states with the most rapid

growth in share of the undocumented immigrant population are those with recent

immigrant population growth. The Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and Southeast

are the new destinations. By some estimates, by 2002, New Jersey trailed Arizona,

Georgia, and North Carolina in number of undocumented aliens.

About six million undocumented immigrants work, constituting 5 percent of

the U.S. labor force. Undocumented men tend to be younger and less likely to be

in school, retired or dis abled. The 96 percent of undocumented men who work is

higher than the percentages for legal immigrants or natives. Sixty-two percent of

undocumented women work. Proportionately, undocumented women are more

likely to have children and stay at home. The percentage for all workers is closer

to 33 percent. Undocumented workers make up less than 10 percent of the

43 million low wage workers in the country.

Forty-one percent of undocumented immigrants are women 18 and older,

3.2 million people. About 1.6 million children are undocumented, and 3 million

have undocumented parents. Sympathizers note that undocumented workers pay

into Social Security about $7 billion a year while receiving no Medicare or other

Social Security beneﬁts, in part because they return home when they reti re. They

paid 10 percent of the 2004 Social Security surplus. Most pay taxes. Also, immi-

grants use health care less than natives. Most have health insurance. Undocu-

mented aliens are an 11-million-person market that banks, mortgage ﬁrms, credit

card companies, and phone companies are seeking aggressively. They add at least

$22 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

Moreover, they are not terrorists. Tightening the border only increases the num-

ber who die and the cost of crossing illegally. It also forces them to stay longer

once they arrive. Und ocumented immigrants are half of farm laborers, a fourth

of meat and poultry, dishwashers, drywall, and ceiling tile installers. They are

everywhere in the United States.

—John H. Barnhill