Posted on 05/01/2008 3:01:19 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
CHICAGO (AP) - Thousands of chanting, flag-waving immigrants and activists rallied in cities across the country Thursday, attempting to reinvigorate calls for immigration reform in a presidential election year in which the economy has taken center stage.
From Washington to Miami to Los Angeles, immigrant rights activists demanded citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and an end to raids and deportations.
"We come here to fight for legalization. We're people. We have rights," said Eric Molina, an undocumented factory worker who immigrated to Zion, Ill., from Mexico.
Molina, his sister and his 13-year-old daughter Erika, a U.S. citizen, were among about 15,000 people who rallied in Chicago in one of the largest demonstrations of the day.
Turnout has fallen sharply since the first nationwide rallies in 2006, when more than 1 million people - at least 400,000 in Chicago alone - clogged streets and brought downtown traffic to a standstill. Activists say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president.
Some said participation likely was lower because many immigrants increasingly fear deportation.
Margot Veranes, a volunteer organizer in Tucson, Ariz., - where 12,000 took to the streets last year but early estimates Thursday put the crowd at about 500 - blamed the turnout on aggressive enforcement by Border Patrol and police.
"People have been stopped and deported in the last week. This is a community living in fear," said Veranes, a researcher for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. "You never know when you're going to be stopped by Border Patrol and now the police."
But she said that's also why people were marching.
"We're marching to end the raids and the deportations, but we're also marching for health care and education and good jobs," she said.
In Washington, immigrant rights groups and social justice organizations were demanding that Prince William County, in northern Virginia, rescind its anti-illegal immigration measure. They also called for an end to raids and deportations and for establishment of worker centers in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.
Activists also asked the Republican and Democratic national committees to have their presidential candidates enact immigration reform.
A crowd of about 1,000 gathered on the steps of the Oregon Capitol in Salem to call for changes in immigration and workplace laws within the first 100 days of the next congressional session. Many demanded that Oregon reverse a decision, imposed by the Legislature in February, to require proof of legal residence to get a driver's license.
Hugo Orozzo, 17-year-old high school senior, was among hundreds who marched through the streets of southwest Detroit. He was born in the U.S., but his father was born in Mexico and some other family members are originally from Mexico.
"It is going to help my family and friends," Orozzo said of the effort. He carried a preprinted sign that read: "Stop raids and deportations that separate families!" in both English and Spanish.
And in Milwaukee, factory worker Miguel Tesillos, 29, was among hundreds who lined sidewalks waiting for the march to begin.
"Our people, we pay taxes, we pay the same as a citizen," said Tesillos, who has a Green Card. "Maybe the new president can see this point, and do something for us."
But activists say they know it will be a challenge to push their issues to the political forefront.
Immigration reform did not resonate with voters in primary elections who overwhelmingly listed the economy as their top concern. Immigration legislation has stalled and been defeated in the Senate, and presidential candidates have not extensively addressed the issues.
Democratic presidential rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supported a 2006 bill, sponsored by Republican candidate John McCain, that offered illegal immigrants legal status on conditions such as learning English. All three also have supported a border fence.
In Chicago, 17-year-old Celeste Rodarte marched with a group of her friends from the city's West Side. She said her parents came to the United States more than 20 years ago and became citizens last year.
"I know a lot of people who don't have papers and I want to help them out," Rodarte said.
Seventh-grader Vicente Campos of Milwaukee was granted an excused absence from school to attend the march. He said he was concerned by stories of immigration officials separating parents and children.
"Immigrants come here to support their families in Mexico," said Campos, 13. "They're not all here to do crimes." _________
Associated Press writers Caryn Rousseau in Chicago, David Runk in Detroit, Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee, Arthur H. Rotstein in Tucson, Ariz., Joseph B. Frazier in Salem, Ore., and Jacquelyn Martin in Washington contributed to this report.
STOP all foreign aid to Mexico and SA.
STOP the decimation of the US economy by allowing $50 Billion to be wired back to Mexico and SA from the US (which is actually money laundering-----illegal proceeds from drug deals, US tax dollars stolen w/ fraudulent forged documents, using multiple stolen ID's and several SS nos.
Lots of talk about "American and Mexican flags" and doing "something for their country" (snicker) but no mention that the televised flag count ran about 1 (us) to 3 (them) to 12 or more red flags with Che's picture on them.
On a positive note, Mayor Villiagarosa (last year's 'El Pachuco') climbed on a different stage to explain why he didn't have to attend every march that comes along.
I still cannot believe what I saw in an upscale supermarket the other day.
Three Mexicans 4’ tall and 4’ around the waist-——dressed exactly like the banditos in Treasure of Sierra Madre.
They were pushing a carriage almost filled with what looked like large pork roasts (guess they gonna have El Barbaqua).
This was in an upscale supermarket where homes sell for a million dollars.
Scary.
If they would build the darn fence that has been authorized and appropriations made to start, there might be a future in ‘declaring war on Mexico’. But as is, we’d lose in a slow bleed as the democraps enroll the illegals for ‘social benefits’. When Teddy the drunk Kennedy recanted his agreement to Reagan to close the border, the handwriting was on the wall for democraps to protect their new source of dependant voters. It has become so bad and so blatant that I would even agree to amnesty for those with a US born child, if the fence with troops were put in place!
LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa--Hillary's 2008 National Hispanic co-chair---and Bill Clinton.
"Psst! Antonio. Hillary has me on a tight leash---I hafta elbow her volunteers
just to get a cheap feel. How about fixing me up with hot latina babes for a
threesome?"
"Ai dunno, Beeley. Latinas mad Heelary dun wanna geeve us no driver's license.
Ai dun't theenk hot mamasitas wanna tango wit chu undah da sheets, enymore,
Beeley." But chu can still have da name of my denteesta."
OUR OPINION: NO OFFICIAL SHOULD HAVE SUCH POWER TO IGNORE US LAW
Miami Herald | Apr. 30, 2008 | Staff
FR Posted on 04/30/2008 5:15:30 AM PDT by fweingart
In the poem, Mending Wall, Robert Frost questions whether ''Good fences make good neighbors.'' In the Department of Homeland Security's push to complete a 670-mile fence along the Mexican border, it's bullying and intrusiveness that are making us a bad neighbor. By disregarding more than 30 U.S. laws, not to mention common sense, DHS will damage the environment and violate property rights in the region. Already the fence has raised hackles among U.S. residents and Mexicans along the border. And it has drawn deserved constitutional challenges. And for what? There are signs that, no matter how high and thick the wall, determined immigrants will find the means to breach it.
===============================================
News reports say illegal invaders armed with torches, hacksaws, ladders and even bungee cords are making it around a section of the US border fence hailed as the most efficient way to stop them.
Shucks, and here we thought illegal aliens were all harmless farmers violating our borders for a better life---to take jobs Americans won't do---flipping hamburgers and picking lettuce. (/sarc)
>”It’s going to help my family and friends,” Orozzo said of the effort. He carried a preprinted sign which read ‘Stop raids and deportations that separate families’ in both Spanish and English.<
Don’t look now, Orozzo, but the USA is still a sovereign nation. The government might not think so any longer, but the American people certainly do!
If you’re from Mexico, North Korea, the Middle East, or China - stay home! Sneaking illegally across our borders separates you from your families, not raids and deportations.
If you want to live here as Americans, come the legal way. Otherwise, go away, Jose!
Two-legged locusts.
I “second” the declaration of war on Mexico!
Your reasoning is idiotic, MHG.
The Japanese were brilliant in their taking our technology (that we gave them after the war) and using it against us. Mexicans haven’t that genius.
Hey MHG or MGH or whatever your call letters are,
Quit sounding so “RINO”-like! Quit making it a “Demorat bad, RINO good” argument...it won’t wash. Hillary is going to go right as soon as she wins the nomination—you watch! She’ll come out against amnesty in a lurch to the right to capture disheartened conservatives and Indies who can’t stomach voting for McAmnesty. It will be a HUGE political calculation. She can’t do it now or she’ll lose the support to beat Obama. She can distance herself and look “patriotic” compared to the sell-out McLame if she does this.
But, even if she doesn’t pull this move, you’re not going to convince enough conservatives to vote for McOldman. Our only chance is to concentrate on the House, bringing in conservatives to knock out Pelosi and the Dems.
We got a lot of company on that.
You might want to slow down and read more thoroughly before opening that trap and inserting foot. ... BTW, the 'are you nuts' was a 'tongue in cheek' comment, as Liz understood but you apparently missed.
Food prices are going up everywhere, not just in the USA.
This will, of course, fall on the usual deaf ears in Washington. In California, both of our moonbat senators are heavily pro-illegal alien and ardent latino ass-kissers.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm ready to support the use of deadly force to protect the borders, security and sovereignty of the United States.
America is the “bread basket of the world” in our capacity to supply world markets-—what happens here affects the world.
Nice try on your part.
Might be best to emphasize to our cockeyed legislators that anti-illegal is a consensus issue----has been proved time and again that anti-illegal unites all segments of the political spectrum. Reason why federal immigration bills have failed more than once.
CASE IN POINT: The Dim attempt by ex-Gov Spitzer to license illegals bombed bigtime and brought pro-licensing Hillary down with it----the begining of the end of her "inevitability" strategy.
The proliferation of state anti-illgal laws is also a very positive sign that Americans are united on this.
Tell that to all the morons in our government who love ethanol subsidies.
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