Rep. Tom Tancredo: Boycott Is a Bust

Rep. Tom Tancredo, Republican from Colorado, a longtime opponent of illegal immigration, says the May 1 Latino worker boycott is "a bust” when it comes to changing public opinion in America.

Tancredo, appearing on Fox News Channel, said the waving of Mexican flags, the chanting of "Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote” and the in-your-face flaunting of U.S. immigration law will not win many converts outside of large Latino strongholds.

"When the average American looks out on the streets and sees people demanding ‘rights’ ... even though the protesters illegally snuck into our country, it doesn’t play well in Peoria,” Tancredo said. "I don’t think it’s working in favor of the illegals, but I hope they keep it up.”

Tancredo said Americans who may have initially been sympathetic to the plight of families who genuinely wish to come to America by legal means will be turned off by the antics of illegal alien protesters.

"I think some of my [congressional] colleagues in New York and California may be influenced by them, but generally speaking, most of the people I talk to say ‘Don’t give in to them; don’t give in to the mobs,’” Tancredo said.

The congressman said most of the e-mails and phone calls he receives from constituents say he and his fellow congressmen should not "give them anything close to amnesty.” Most, he said, have asked Tancredo to persuade the House of Representatives and Senate to stick to the House bill and stricter enforcement of the U.S. borders.