She Who Must Be Obeyed and I responded with puzzled gazes. What was the lad on about? Oh, wait. The trucker boycott? Yes, the trucker boycott. Or, rather, the threatened trucker boycott by Latino drivers and their sympathizers upset over Senate Bill 1718, Florida’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Highlights of the statute that became effective July 1:

• Businesses with more than 25 employees must use E-Verify, the federal background check that screens employee eligibility to work in the U.S.
• Employees discovered to be unauthorized foreign nationals must be dismissed.
• Out-of-state identification cards issued to unauthorized immigrants are invalidated.
• It’s illegal to transport known undocumented immigrants into the state.

The new law was driven in large part by the abject failure of the Biden administration to prevent the free flow of immigrants across the southern border.

“The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the United States and has put Americans in danger,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country. The legislation I signed today gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration.”

So the bill passed and was signed, and within days, Latino truckers were getting attention over a threatened boycott of the nation’s third largest state.

So much excitement!

The trucker boycott of Florida is growing exponentially every day. Latino drivers, White drivers, and Black drivers are all organizing in support of immigrants in the US.

It's a beautiful thing to see.

Shout out to Hispanics TikTok for this awesome compilation. pic.twitter.com/YgAdk0J2hU

— Arturo Dominguez 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@ExtremeArturo) May 17, 2023

By the weekend, Latin American truck drivers were threatening to stop delivering to and in Florida, according to independent journalist Arturo Dominguez. “Don’t enter Florida,” one trucker said in a TikTok video.

“Spanish language social media has exploded with Latino truck drivers calling for a boycott and refusing to take shipments into Florida,” Dominguez tweeted Saturday. “Things are about to get interesting.”

Except, in fact, they absolutely did not. Promises of early action fizzled. Retailers’ shelves groaned blissfully from repeated punctual deliveries of expected goods — despite what you may have seen on social media.

Here’s AP for the fact-check win:

CLAIM: Videos show empty grocery store shelves in Florida because truckers are boycotting the state over a new immigration law.

THE FACTS: While both clips show Florida stores, neither has anything to do with the new law or a boycott. One is from October and shows shortages during Hurricane Ian, while another shows a recent refrigeration issue at a single Walmart Supercenter.

All of which means the Twitter post below that attracted 6,000 likes was absolute hokum:

“Undocumented workers are leaving Florida in droves. It’s affecting farmers, hotels, restaurants, construction, lawn companies, & especially grocery stores w perishables,” reads one Twitter post of the footage, which had received more than 6,000 likes as of Wednesday. “Understandably many Hispanic truck drivers are refusing to enter the state. Nicely done DeSantis!”

So much for action happening in June. More recently, organizers — using the term generously — chose July 1, SB 1718’s effective date, for their show of unified, forceful revulsion.

What happened then? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip-a-dee-do-dah. 

Beneath a headline that revealed a copy editor’s fervent hope — Florida’s truck drivers’ strike fell short of expectations. Why? — the Tampa Bay Times reported thusly:

The word got out on social media about the planned suspension of deliveries to and from the state on July 1. Many, including Latino truck drivers from different states, started sharing messages and videos, threatening to boycott Florida in response to the new immigration law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But when the day arrived, the boycott didn’t materialize.

Not that the usual opportunistic suspects didn’t attempt to capitalize on the anticipated energy. (Presented to provide a clearer picture of what this dustup is all about.)

Winter Park Florida

Rally for Immigration and human rights planned for same day as the Hispanic Trucker Boycott.

Floridians say mess around and find out!#DemCastFL #OVFL #ProudBlue https://t.co/XTRIhoaCxn

— FloridaKeysDems *️⃣ DemCastFL Lead ☮️ OVFL (@DemsKeys) June 27, 2023

As the kids say, “So, yeah.”

Now, back to the boycott that didn’t happen.

Times Latino affairs reporter Juan Carlos Chavez noted a variety of factors for the boycott’s failure to meet “expectations.” Whose expectations? Nobody I knew. But, then, perhaps I don’t get out enough. Nonetheless, the threatened boycott turned out about as my circle of retiree golfers expected.

And here, as presented by Chavez, verifies our bedrock 19th hole skepticism:

Elda Garcel, a 60-year-old mother and wife from Cuba who came to the U.S. two decades ago, said that the new law is not bad. She believes it’s meant to tackle illegal immigration and human trafficking and hold businesses accountable for failing to follow the rules.

“I believe they’re misinterpreting Gov. DeSantis’ law. It includes provisions that have been in place for a long time, like E-Verify,” said Garcel. “Having open borders for immigration isn’t a wise idea, which is why I think the truckers’ boycott hasn’t achieved the expected success. I’m not defending DeSantis, but I think there are issues that we need to address.”

Ah, but the activism-without-action did achieve its goal, claims independent reporter Dominguez. Awareness was achieved. Handwringing, teeth-gnashing and the righteous rending of garments were induced.

“[I]n that sense,” Dominguez told Chavez, “most activists would consider it a triumph.”

The proper response is, with our caps forever tipped to the legendary Jim Murray, “Well, you can believe that if you want to.”