Store owners wary of boycott

Businesses would prefer not to be drawn into battle over immigration enforcement.COSTA MESA -- Whether local merchants support or oppose the City Council’s move to train police for immigration enforcement, there’s one sentiment many seem to share: Don’t drag us into a political battle.

A coalition of labor, community and immigrant-rights groups announced plans last week for a business boycott in two months if the council doesn’t drop the plan.

The council in December decided, in a 3-2 vote, to have police trained to check the immigration status of people who are arrested for other crimes.

The coalition, called Citizens for Constitutional Rights, plans to offer signs that oppose the immigration proposal. Businesses that don’t display the sign would be subject to the boycott.

Signs have not yet been distributed, but coalition members already have been talking to businesses, said Nativo Lopez, a Santa Ana Latino activist.

The group has gotten “a very positive response, much better than what people would think,” Lopez said. He declined to say how many businesses have agreed to post the signs.

The city has about 7,000 businesses, but the group will be approaching those that are open to the public.

Getting the signs posted could be a hard sell, because some merchants just want to do business, not take sides in a fight over a political issue. Others aren’t concerned because they don’t think the boycott would affect their business niche.

One business owner who won’t be posting a sign is Massimo Navarretta, a longtime restaurant owner in Costa Mesa who recently opened Onotria on Bristol Street.

Threatening businesses isn’t the best way to resolve a political issue, he said. If a boycott does take place, businesses may be offending someone whether they put up a sign or not, he added.

“I think, actually, the social issue should be discussed and resolved at the ballot box,” Navarretta said.

He thinks the federal government, not the city, should handle immigration issues.

Carlos Tapia, who works at CT Printing on Harbor Boulevard, said he agrees with the council’s decision and has no worries about the proposed boycott.

“I really don’t care about the boycott at all,” he said.

At more eclectic and youth-oriented businesses like the Gypsy Den Cafe, a boycott might not have much of an effect on customers, said Gypsy Den manager Delilah Snell.

She said it’s unlikely a sign will go up there because the cafe’s owner has been reluctant to put up political signs of any kind in the past.

“Businesses don’t get political, because you can’t afford to make enemies,” she said.