Great American Boycott

The Great American Boycott (Spanish: El Gran Paro Estadounidense, lit. "the Great American Strike") was a one-day boycott of United States schools and businesses by immigrants in the United States, of mostly Latin American origin that took place on May 1, 2006.

The date was chosen by boycott organizers to coincide with May Day, the International Workers Day observed as a national holiday in Asia, most of Europe, and Mexico, but not officially recognized in the United States due to its "Communist" associations to some, and a separate Labor Day holiday it shares with Canada in early September.

As a continuation of the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests, the organizers called for supporters to abstain from buying, selling, working, and attending school, in order to attempt to demonstrate through the extent to which the labor obtained of illegal immigrants is needed. Supporters of the boycott rallied in major cities across the U.S. to demand general amnesty and legalization programs for illegal aliens. For this reason, the day is referred to as A Day Without an Immigrant in reference to the 2004 political satire film A Day Without a Mexican.

Though some demonstrations were peaceful, a Vista, California rally took a violent turn at day's end when crowds began throwing rocks and bottles at sheriff's deputies. There were also two arrests made at a demonstration in Los Angeles's MacArthur Park. A stabbing that occurred near the location of the march in San Jose, California, may or may not have been related to the day's events.

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