| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"---LANCE VAN NESS -Ä$$ xoÃ-¥LxS£Æ§RÐ-£Æ§" |
| Date: |
26 Mar 2006 11:34:44 AM |
| Object: |
500,000+ in L.A.-"HELL NO WE WON'T GO". |
More Than 500,000 Rally in L.A. for Immigrants' Rights
by Teresa Watanabe and Anna Gorman
Joining what some are calling the nation's largest mobilization of
immigrants ever, hundreds of thousands of people boisterously marched in
downtown Los Angeles Saturday to protest federal legislation that would
crack down on undocumented immigrants, penalize those who help them and
build a security wall on the U.S. southern border.
500,000+
Hundreds of thousands protest against House-passed HR 4437, an
anti-immigration bill that opponents say will criminalize millions of
immigrant families and anyone who comes into contact with them. (Bob
Chamberlin / LAT) Mar. 25, 2006
Spirited crowds representing labor, religious groups, civil-rights
advocates and ordinary immigrants stretched over 26 blocks of downtown Los
Angeles from Adams Blvd. along Spring Street and Broadway to City Hall,
tooting kazoos, waving American flags and chanting "Si se puede!" (Yes we
can!). The crowd, estimated by police at more than 500.000, represented one
of the largest protest marches in Los Angeles history, surpassing Vietnam
War demonstrations and the 70,000 who rallied downtown against Proposition
187, a 1994 state initiative that denied public benefits to undocumented
migrants.
The marchers included both longtime residents and the newly arrived,
bound by a desire for a better life and a love for this county.
Arbelica Lazo, 40, illegally immigrated from El Salvador two decades
ago but said she now owns two business and pays $7,000 in taxes annually.
Jose Alberto Salvador, 33, came here illegally just four months ago to
find work to support the wife and five children he left behind; in his
native Guatemala, he said, what little work he could find paid only $10 a
day. "As much as we need this country, we love this country," Salvador said,
waving a stick with both the American and Guatemalan flag. "This country
gives us opportunities we don't get at home."
Saturday's rally, spurred by anger over legislation passed by the U.S.
House of Representatives last December, was part of what many say is an
unprecedented effort to organize immigrants and their supporters across the
nation. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is to take up efforts Monday to
complete work on a comprehensive immigration reform proposal. Unlike the
House bill, which beefed up border security and toughened immigration laws,
the Senate committee's version is expected to include a guest worker program
and a path to legalization for the nation's 10 to 12 million undocumented
immigrants.
In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have staged
demonstrations in more than a dozen cities. The Roman Catholic Church and
other religious communities have launched immigrant rights campaigns, with
Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony taking a leading role in speaking out
against the House bill and calling on his priests to defy its provisions
that would make felons of anyone who aided undocumented immigrants. In
addition, several cities, including Los Angeles, have passed resolutions
against the House legislation and some, such as Maywood, have declared
itself a "sanctuary" for undocumented immigrants.
"There has never been this kind of mobilization in the immigrant
community ever," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois
Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "They have kicked the sleeping
giant. It's the beginning of a massive immigrant civil rights struggle."
One of the marchers Saturday, Jose Alberto Salvador, 33, left his wife
and children behind in Guatemala four months ago to cross the border into
the United States so he could earn enough money to return home and buy a
house.
Jorge Valdovinos, 43, is a legal immigrant from Mexico who has three
US-born children and works as a financial advisor.
Amid a sea of American and Mexican flags, protesters chanted "Si Se
Puede!" and waved banners in Spanish that read, "We aren't criminals" and
"The USA is made by immigrants."
"I love this country as if it were my own, for the opportunities it
has given me," said Laurentino Ramirez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who
works at a garment factory. "The law is unjust for those who don't have
papers. We come to work. We don't come to do harm to anyone."
Many of the marchers were immigrants themselves - both legal and
illegal -- from Mexico and Central America. Some had just crossed the
border, while others had been here for decades. There were construction
workers and business owners; families with young children and people in
wheelchairs. Throughout the afternoon, protesters heard speakers demand a
path toward legalization and denounce HR 4437, which would tighten border
enforcement and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.
The rally was organized by numerous unions, religious organizations
and immigrant rights groups and publicized through Spanish-language media,
which encouraged participants to wear white to symbolize peace and bring
American flags. The mostly peaceful march stretched over 26 blocks, shutting
down streets and tying up traffic around downtown for hours. Police
estimated the crowd at 500,000, more than five times the size of the 1994
rally against California's Proposition 187, which would have denied services
to undocumented immigrants. Participants said the massive mobilization shows
that immigrants' voices must be heard and that they are contributing to the
country's economy.
Copyright © 2006 Los Angeles Times
###
500,000+
Hundreds of thousands protest against House-passed HR 4437, an
anti-immigration bill that opponents say will criminalize millions of
immigrant families and anyone who comes into contact with them. (Bob
Chamberlin / LAT) Mar. 25, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/images/0325-03.jpg
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
Welcome to Hell: 134,000 Lost Jobs in August 'Mass Layoffs'
Re: Kerry & Fonda's Actions Delayed The End Of The War Causing 20,000 MORE Americans To Die! I Hope They Burn in Hell
Military bases: Texas to gain 9,000 jobs, Florida 2,575; the rest go to hell..
Delta announced 17,000 layoffs in 2001, CEO gets $4.7 million Raise
Bush Got $500,000 From Companies That Got Contracts, Study Finds
Cost of Iraq invasion to date: $104,914,900,000 and climbing.
US - 10,000 nukes*Israel - 200 nukes*Arab states - 0
Jobless claims increase. 345,000 more Americans join jobless lines. Wages stagnate.
| http://www.costofwar.com/ ($126,000,000,000 and growing)
Bush pays $14,000 for a frozen custard
One Nipple Costs $500,000 in Free Country
Another 329,000 Americans join the jobless lines
Re: Bruce Springsteen draws 80,000 to Wisconsin Kerry rally
181,000 voters in U.S. elections were dead
Rightist talker Williams was sued in a massive $200,000 50-charge sexual harassment suit
|
|
|
