Immigration Boycott

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," April 4, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

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JOHN KASICH, GUEST HOST: Our top story tonight, immigration rights activists announce a international boycott on May 1. They say they won't go to work, or to school. They won't shop and shut down businesses. They are upset over the proposed illegal immigration crackdowns being debated on Capitol Hill. The folks behind the May 1 boycott are the same people that organized these demonstrations in Los Angeles that brought out half a million people recently. Joining us now from Los Angeles, Javier Rodriguez, spokesperson for the so-called Great American Boycott of 2006. All right, Javier, what are you trying to do with the boycott, shut everything down for a day? What are you trying to do? What's the message going to be here?

JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, SPOKESPERSON, GREAT AMERICAN BOYCOTT OF 2006: The message is of hope, of respect, of dignity and we are going to continue the same message that we gave on March 25, in the two weeks prior to that when we brought out at least 2 million people on to the streets. And we brought the national debate on immigration reform to the floor in American public opinion. And we injected the undocumented immigrant and the rest of the immigrant community into the national debate. And we are expecting that with this boycott, national boycott, we will be able to further gain some respect, dignity, and improve the lot of the immigrant community.

KASICH: All right. All right. Are you worried a little bit about a backlash? I think your early rallies did have an impact. They were peaceful. But now you are saying what you are going to do is people aren't going to — kids aren't going to go to school. People aren't going to go to work. We are going to shut things down for a day. Are you worried there is going to be a backlash? I mean to say to kids don't go to school. I don't know, how responsible is that?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, let me say that we have the American public now, the majority agreeing with us...

KASICH: Agreeing with what? On what?

RODRIGUEZ: Legalization of immigration.

KASICH: Legalization?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. And empowering the undocumented community — the people that take care of their children, the people that care of the elderly, and the sick who serve their food, who pick their fruit and their vegetable — I mean, you name it.

KASICH: Yes, but Javier...

RODRIGUEZ: We are rebuilding New Orleans, remember that. We are everywhere.

KASICH: Yeah, but Javier, the only thing I'm saying is when you say we have the American people — you may, there is an honest debate going on as to whether the people who came here illegally, and jumped the line, ought to be sent back but no one is saying it should be legalized. The American people said they came in illegally, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: John, the American people are over that.

KASICH: I am the American people, too.

RODRIGUEZ: Those people who say that have got to get a life. The American people don't believe that anymore. They're not there. They've moved on.

KASICH: You know what?

RODRIGUEZ: You should move on, also.

KASICH: Javier, I have got to tell you something.

RODRIGUEZ: You are falling back. You are falling back. Stay with the times.

KASICH: Javier, look, we are going to resolve this problem but we are not going to resolve it by either of us trying to presume the outcome. What I can tell you is this — if the American people were not concerned about people who ditched the line, and jumped in front of people who waited for years, you would have an immigration bill. You are not passing one through the Senate.

RODRIGUEZ: That...

KASICH: Wait a minute. Let me finish.

RODRIGUEZ: Again...

KASICH: Hold on, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: OK, I'll let you finish, then you let me answer.

KASICH: I will. If the American people were so much for this, then you would have passed a bill through the Senate and the House. The problem is the American people are conflicted. They tell their kids to abide by the rules, they see people break the rules, and now they are not quite sure what to do about it. I mean, you have got to concede that.

RODRIGUEZ: That argument doesn't work anymore. It's the right-wing Republicans, the ones that are pushing in that direction. The American public is pushing in the opposite direction. In the humane, integral, comprehensive immigration reform that will lead to legalization, that will lead to citizenship. We already had it in the past. Look, the demonstrations, the public demonstrations were extremely peaceful. We left the streets of downtown Los Angeles cleaner than they had been for a long time. There wasn't one single arrest. There wasn't one single incident all over the country.

KASICH: All right, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: All over the country — and the same thing.

KASICH: All right. Hey, I complimented you on the...

RODRIGUEZ: Hold on. You said you were going to let me...

KASICH: Yeah, but we don't have forever, here. Go ahead and finish up quickly.

RODRIGUEZ: John, let me just finish this point. On May 1, it's going to be peaceful, the same thing. The people are very respectful. They are going to show once again a model, an example of civic duty. Those people that don't have documents and their families and their allies...

KASICH: All right. Can't make you — I can't just...

RODRIGUEZ: ...will show America once again that they are human beings and they are orderly.

KASICH: Nobody is saying they are not human beings. Nobody has said they haven't made contributions. No one is saying they are not racist. The debate in this country is...

RODRIGUEZ: Sure you have. Sure you have.

KASICH: No, we haven't. And I don't like that, that is not the issue here. The issue is when you tell people that you are going to stand in line and you are going to wait, and people ditch the line and get in ahead of you, and you get shut out you better believe that people don't like it. How we resolve it, I don't know.

RODRIGUEZ: John, John...

KASICH: But to say that everything is OK, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: You are just repeating your argument.

KASICH: You have to believe in the Tooth Fairy here, if you think that.

RODRIGUEZ: John, John...

KASICH: That's why this debate is going on, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: You have got to face reality. You have got to face reality. We had millions of people on the street, hundreds of thousands.

KASICH: I understand that.

RODRIGUEZ: We are going to have a very effective national boycott on May 1.

KASICH: Well, we're going to be watching, Javier.

RODRIGUEZ: In California, we had it before.

KASICH: All right. We've got to let you go, but I'll give you one bit of advice tell the kids to go to school that day, it will be a more effective message. I promise you. Thanks for being with us, Javier.

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