Boycotts Slow Business; Protesters March, Force Brief Closure Of Int’l Bridges
EL PASO, TX. – Hundreds of Sun City residents protested for immigration rights throughout the day on Monday, the so-called “Day Without Immigrants.”
Border residents skipped out on work and school to demand immigration rights at Chamizal National Memorial. The rally was organized and led by the Border Workers Association.
Protestors then marched for miles from the Chamizal along the Bridge of the Americas knocking down a street sign, waving Mexican and American flags, and chanting. Different groups of protestors at one point blocked part of the Bridge of the Americas and the Paso del Norte bridge.
Customs officials met the protesters halfway on the Paso del Norte bridge, making sure they did not cross into the US. Officials briefly closed the bridge to motorized traffic, however pedestrian traffic was unaffected.
There was also a marked decline in the amount of cars and people traveling from Juarez to El Paso
US Customs & Border, tells ABC-7 “On a given Monday your wait time in the middle of the day is gonna be 10 or 20 minutes. Monday, most of the day, it’s been 5 minutes or less, in many cases no wait whatsoever.[it’s] at lease a 50 percent reduction in border crossing traffic, if not more.”
In Mexico City, hundreds of union members rallied in support of Mexican migrants working in the US. Additionally, boycotts took place throughout Mexico, where today was regarded as “a Day without Gringos.”
At least half a dozen state governors in Mexico endorsed the boycott of McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and other US based companies. However, the economic impact of the boycotts may be hard to measure as Monday was also Mexico’s Labor Day.
Around the city, business was reported to be a fraction of normal because of the holiday and boycott. ABC-7 did get a chance to speak to a construction worker working at a site off Mesa. He said several co-workers didn’t show up to work, which was unusual.
In Socorro, a manager for Idle-Aire off Horizon Boulevard told ABC-7 some truck drivers were having a tough time delivering their loads. According to the manager, there were no workers around at several area business to accepts their cargo.
