Boycott muted here

A few more dirty cars than usual may have been cruising around Newport-Mesa on Monday, and those with a hankering for Mexican food may have had to settle for something else.

But otherwise the effects of the national “day without immigrants” were muted here, with the region’s major demonstration taking place in Los Angeles, and Santa Ana playing host to Orange County’s biggest rallies.

Congress is debating whether to crack down on illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them, or to offer a guest worker program to fill “jobs Americans won’t do” ? as President Bush has said ? and allow those who are here illegally a chance to earn citizenship.

Immigration rights advocates called for a nationwide boycott of work, school and shopping Monday to show how much immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy.

Costa Mesa has been an epicenter of the debate because of the City Council’s controversial proposal to train police for immigration enforcement, but the city seemed largely unaffected by Monday’s protests. Nearly a third of the city’s population is Latino.

A number of businesses around Costa Mesa were closed Monday, most of them on the city’s largely Latino Westside.

Elsewhere in the city and in Newport Beach, it was a typical Monday.

“It’s actually been slower out here,” said Brian Kaminsky, a loader who handles cinder blocks and dry cement at the Harbor Boulevard Home Depot in Costa Mesa. “I haven’t noticed a difference inside.”

Down the road at the Red Wing shoe store, manager Gary Bradley said his business may actually have improved. A few of the other businesses in his shopping center at Harbor Boulevard and Victoria Street were closed, but it didn’t affect him.

Because he sells work shoes to construction employees, when they’re off work, “they have more time to come in and shop,” Bradley said.

That’s what Joshua Santillan, a carpenter, was doing. He’s been working on a building in Los Angeles near where marches were taking place.

“I was going to take the day off regardless,” said Santillan, a Whittier resident. “I may not agree with everything, but my people are fighting for something and as Mexicans we have to respect each other.”

The posh Balboa Bay Club didn’t suffer much disruption from the boycott. Front desk clerk Lindsey Woller said only four out of more than 500 employees failed to appear for work Monday.

But across the street at the Car Spa car wash, no one was buffing cars in the mid-afternoon sun.

The doors were locked, the shop was dark, and some prospective customers were puzzled because there was no sign anywhere to explain the closure.

Justin Johnson of Newport Beach, who was hoping to get his Chevy Trailblazer washed, said it was the same story at other carwashes he tried ? they were short-staffed or not open at all.

The car wash may have had the problem Costa Mesa restaurant owner Mirna Burciaga had. She planned to open her El Chinaco restaurant, but her workers didn’t come in ? as the sign on her front door said, “no employees, no service.”

Even though no major rallies were scheduled here, others were drawn to Costa Mesa because of the city’s stance on immigration enforcement. Virginia Johnson came from her home in South Gate to do some shopping, but she also stopped at the corner of Newport Boulevard and Del Mar Drive to join about a dozen counter-protesters who were waving American flags on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway overpass.

“The Costa Mesa City Council seems to know that illegal is illegal,” said Johnson, who carried a sign reading, “It’s not racism to want border security.”

Sandra Sweet of Mission Viejo joined the local demonstration after attending a counter-protest in Santa Ana. Holding a large flag, she said she hoped to send the message to elected officials that people want to see the borders enforced.

“We’re going to show them through our vote ? anyone that votes for amnesty, that doesn’t get those borders secure, they’re out,” said Sweet, who is self-employed.

As protesters across the country tried to shape the national debate, Burciaga said she’s counting on fall City Council elections to change the direction of Costa Mesa’s immigration policy.

“I believe that people think in November things will change in Costa Mesa,” said Burciaga, who is running for council.

For a few people, Monday’s boycott apparently was a good thing. Business was steady all day at the Metro Car Wash on Harbor Boulevard and workers got bigger tips because customers were thankful they showed up for work, cashier Blanca Ornelas said.

“A lot of people are coming here because we opened,” she said, adding that it could hurt other car washes in the long run because customers “are coming here and they like the service.”dpt.02-boycott-1-kt-CPhotoInfo4S1QGVE320060502iylq9bncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)A sign on a storefront on 19th Street in Costa Mesa informs customers that it closed to support the economic boycott organized by immigration rights activists across the country on Monday. The boycott, in which people stayed away from school and work and did not shop, aimed to call attention to how much the country depends on immigrants. dpt.02-boycott-2-kt-CPhotoInfo4S1QGVE620060502iylq8gncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)The El Matate shopping center at 19th Street and Placentia Avenue was nearly empty Monday because of the economic boycott organized by immigration rights activists.