Immigration demonstrations planned (Hint at who is organizing these events)

LOS ANGELES — The protests that drew national attention to the future of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants are relaunching even though sweeping reform legislation has stalled on Capitol Hill.

Weeks ago organizers picked Monday for dozens of demonstrations nationwide, a signal that what began as a string of disparate events — attracting tens and even hundreds of thousands of people — has become more coordinated.

“We don’t have a leader like Martin Luther King or Cesar Chavez, but this is now a national immigrant rights movement,” said Joshua Hoyt, director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which has helped organize rallies around Chicago.

Activists say the Senate’s decision last week not to push through a bill that would have given many illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship is neither a cause for celebration nor a lost opportunity — it’s a chance to regroup. And that’s what they’ll do at demonstrations planned from Florida to Oregon that include school walkouts and downtown marches in major cities.

Across California over 20 events were planned Monday, ranging from a rally in Bakersfield to a ceremony in San Diego dedicated to immigrants who’ve died while trying to illegally cross the border in desolate desert regions.

In Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, who has been at the forefront of the Catholic Church’s calls for activism in support of illegal immigrants, planned to lead a candlelight vigil.

Ahead of Monday’s events, hundreds of thousands of people protested in Dallas, while tens of thousands rallied in San Diego and at a handful of smaller demonstrations around the country.

Religious groups have been coordinating the protests in recent weeks, with dozens of unions, schools and civil rights organizations.

Part of their goal has been to recruit more Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants — most protesters so far have been Hispanics and high school or university students.

Many groups had been preparing to rally since December, when the House passed a bill to build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, make criminals of people who helped undocumented immigrants and turn being in the country illegally from a civil violation to a felony.

Those mostly local and regional efforts, supported by popular Spanish-language disc jockeys, quickly converted into national plans after hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in dozens of cities last month, culminating March 25 with a 500,000-strong rally in Los Angeles.

Organizers say the national strategy that has evolved from the protests will let them keep pressuring lawmakers, though legislation offering eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants staggered Friday when Senate Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree to a final vote.

“This fight is not over,” said Juan Carlos Ruiz, coordinator of the National Capital Immigration Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based group which includes faith, labor and business groups from a handful of surrounding states.

Though the groups are united around the need to protest, they have their own agendas, especially proposals to create a large and regulated guest worker program. Unions say that would hurt organizing efforts and bring down wages, while civil rights groups say making it easier for immigrants to get U.S. work permits will sharply reduce illegal immigration.

What organizers agree on is the need to convert energy from protests into massive voter registration drives.

Voter registration and citizenship education initiatives are set to begin in several states after a “Day Without An Immigrant” campaign planned for May 1, an event which asks immigrants nationwide to stay home from work and school, and refrain from buying American products.

“Marches will only get you so far,” said Armando Navarro, coordinator of the National Alliance for Human Rights, an umbrella organization for Hispanic activist groups in Southern California. “There has to be an electoral component to get the Republicans out of the majority.”

The streets were packed downtown, though traffic in general was much lighter in the city. The local TV played Maury and Montel as usual in the morning. A "spokesman" for the marchers was interviewed on the early morning news. "Quite frankly," he began. His grassroots were showing, and they weren't in the Southwest but more like Chicago. You might wonder why have the march on a workday but then Monday is the day many Mexican restaurants in town are closed anyway.

Thanks for posting Joseph Farah's article. I've emailed to everyone I know and hope others will do the same. The guy articulates what I've been thinking for years.

The Communists at International ANSWER are one of the big sponsors and promoters. If you look closely at the professionally made signs at the "rallies", you can see their logo. United for Peace & Justice, et al are all involved. The support for amnesty from these organizations is quite a boost for those that do not support amnesty. It pulled me off the fence. I imagine it would have the same effect on many other people. Spread the word and let members of Congress know about this!

24 posted on 04/11/2006 8:53:12 AM PDT by Chickenhawk Warmonger (Join the chickenhawk express at www.chickenhawkexpress.blogspot.com)

in the interim you could go to your local catholic church that publicly condones lawbreaking and now tithe them in pesos.

there is no 'separation of church and state' when it comes time for uber-liberals to pimp for the church.

ANSWER

AFL-CIO

26 posted on 04/11/2006 9:16:25 AM PDT by michigander (The Constitution only guarantees the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.)

The more pressure we keep on Mexico, immigration-wise, the more reformers
inside of Mexico can be emboldened and empowered to scale back monopolists'
abuses down there which keep our own country flooded with economic refugees.
Here's an interesting new thread on new legal reform progress that finally
emerged in Mexico I think as a result of immigration reform's failure:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611677/posts

We can make a difference for our sake, and their's as well. Isn't it the
neighborly thing to do?

Proof that the AFL-CIO does not support American workers, but is really just a socialist front group designed to keep the fat cats at the top healhty and wealthy, while they keep the little guy duped that the money they extort from him/her is actually being used for the little guy's benefit. The fact is, they don't care who pays the union dues, legals or illegals - so long as they get paid.

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