(Irmo) - At first listen, you might not notice anything different, but at Ritmo 1170AM, "we're running on automatic," explains station Vice President Sergio Perez. "There's no live on-air personalities."

Not quite a boycott, like the organizers of "A Day Without Immigrants" had planned, but rather, their way to recognize the issue.

The station's staff, led by Perez, spent the day working, because Perez - an immigrant from Cuba - felt skipping out wouldn't send the right message.

"I personally don't agree with it, I think it'll be counterproductive," he says. "You need to go to school and you need to go to work. We're saying we're here to work and we're not showing up for work today."

On-air talent Frank Ponce agrees. He moved to America in December to do what a number of other Hispanics aren't doing today.

"You will definitely bite the hand that's feeding you with this," he says.

Despite that, both men recognize there is a growing number of illegal immigrants - many of them 1170 listeners - who want to stay in the United States.

"The people are scared right now," Frank says. "The answer, to be honest with you, I would say is that there's gotta somehow be a fix to this problem."

Adds Perez, "It doesn't matter how you got here, as long as you followed the laws up to now, I think you should be allowed to stay."

Ritmo's deejays will be back on the air Tuesday morning at 6:30.