National Illegal Immigrant Day

Illegal immigrants and their supporters are out in force today in the hopes of shutting down the economy by not working and not spending any money. Of course that just means they did all their shopping yesterday or will have to do it tomorrow, but it's the thought that counts... HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Illegal immigrants and their allies gathered Monday for marches, prayers and demonstrations on a planned national day of economic protest, boycotting work, school and shopping to show their importance to the country. [...] "If I lose my job, it's worth it," said Cruz, who has a temporary work permit that is granted to many Central Americans. "It's worth losing several jobs to get my papers." Others were working Monday but buying nothing as part of the economic boycott around the country. Some planned to attend protests during lunch breaks or after work. Church services, candlelight vigils and picnics also were planned. [...] Some big businesses were shutting down operations: Eight of 14 Perdue Farms plants will close; Gallo Wines in Sonoma, Calif., was giving its 150 employees the day off; Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, planned to shut five of its nine beef plants and four of six pork plants. In Denver, El Centro Humanitario, a nonprofit set up to help day laborers, was closed Monday because its managers were helping organize a rally downtown expected to attract tens of thousands of people. But there was little change at Labor Finders, a temporary office with several offices in the Denver area, spokesman Tim Kaffer said. "The people who come in here really can't afford to take a day off," he said. "Their daily pay just takes care of their hotel and food." I'm sure the economy will roll ahead just fine even if hundreds of thousands of illegals take the day off. It's unfortunate that it will cost some small business owners a sizable chunk of change, but I'm sure there are resourceful people out there who need jobs who could fit right in to the job of an illegal at a rally and take his or her job. If I were out of work, I'd see today as a great opportunity. Oh your driver went to a rally instead of coming to work? I can drive your truck... Your gardening crew is protesting instead of working? I can take his route and clients... You lost some of your meat packing line to a vigil? I can take one of their spots; I think I might have a buddy or two who's looking for a job too... Sure it might be something akin to hiring scabs, but these "scabs" are available to fill a void in a company that lost workers in a national "proud to be an illegal" day rally. And who knows... they might even be legal citizens. So if you're out of work, go hit the pavement. I bet there are plenty of employers looking for workers who won't go rally every time MeCha says so... UPDATE @ 11:55am: Reuters reports an estimated 11.5 to 12 million illegals did not go to work today. I don't know... That number seems really high... UPDATE 2 @ 1:24pm: Is it just me or does the slogan "A Day Without Immigrants" suggest that they're all going to disappear? I think that's a much better idea... maybe they'll disappear back to the nations they came from...