Pushing matches ensued when officers tried to separate the protesters
and a group of mostly black students who were trailing them, Wong said.
Police then separated into several platoons wearing riot gear to break
up the fights, and arrested one of the trailers, a 15-year-old boy, for
allegedly inciting a fight, Wong said.
The student was not identified by police because he is a minor, but
Chris Eftychiou of the Long Beach Unified School District said the
student is a Jordan sophomore. "We're not sure exactly what he was
doing, and we're going to discuss with police what discipline might be
warranted," Eftychiou said.
Police also closed part of Atlantic to traffic to avoid further
confrontations, and no one was injured in the scuffles, Wong said. The
protest began at about 1:30 p.m. and was winding down by 4:30 p.m.,
when it was declared an illegal assembly, he said.
The Los Angeles demonstration also led to fights between black and
Hispanic students at one high school, but the protests were largely
peaceful, authorities said.
Chantal Mason, a sophomore at George Washington Preparatory High, said
black students jumped Hispanic students as they left classes to protest
a bill that passed the House in December that would make it a felony to
be in the U.S. illegally.
"It was horrible, horrible," Mason said. "It's ridiculous that a bunch
of black students would jump on Latinos like that, knowing they're
trying to get their freedom."
Immigration bill protested
=================================================================
THIS GUY IS A FUCKING IGNORANT *****. THIS IS WHY I KNOW THAT THIS
ISSUE WILL BE A BIG CONTRIBUTING FACTOR LEADING US TOWARD AMERICA'S
SECOND CIVIL WAR. I AM GLAD ABOUT THIS. KEEP YOUR FUCKING IGNORANCE UP,
*****. ***** AMERICA.
=================================================================
By Tim Molloy, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Thousands of people across the country protested Friday
against legislation cracking down on illegal immigrants, with
demonstrators in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta staging
school walkouts, marches and work stoppages.
Congress is considering legislation that would make it a felony to be
illegally in the United States, impose new penalties on employers who
hire illegal immigrants and erect fences along one-third of the
U.S.-Mexican border. The proposals have angered many Hispanics.
A peaceful afternoon protest of about 150 mostly Hispanic Jordan High
School students began to turn ugly when someone got out of a car to
confront the students on Atlantic Avenue between the school and
Houghton Park, said Long Beach police Officer Jason Wong.
Pushing matches ensued when officers tried to separate the protesters
and a group of mostly black students who were trailing them, Wong said.
Police then separated into several platoons wearing riot gear to break
up the fights, and arrested one of the trailers, a 15-year-old boy, for
allegedly inciting a fight, Wong said.
The student was not identified by police because he is a minor, but
Chris Eftychiou of the Long Beach Unified School District said the
student is a Jordan sophomore. "We're not sure exactly what he was
doing, and we're going to discuss with police what discipline might be
warranted," Eftychiou said.
Police also closed part of Atlantic to traffic to avoid further
confrontations, and no one was injured in the scuffles, Wong said. The
protest began at about 1:30 p.m. and was winding down by 4:30 p.m.,
when it was declared an illegal assembly, he said.
The Los Angeles demonstration also led to fights between black and
Hispanic students at one high school, but the protests were largely
peaceful, authorities said.
Chantal Mason, a sophomore at George Washington Preparatory High, said
black students jumped Hispanic students as they left classes to protest
a bill that passed the House in December that would make it a felony to
be in the U.S. illegally.
"It was horrible, horrible," Mason said. "It's ridiculous that a bunch
of black students would jump on Latinos like that, knowing they're
trying to get their freedom."
One black and one Hispanic student interceded to calm their classmates
and help restore order, Los Angeles school district spokeswoman Monica
Carazo said.
A call to the school principal was not immediately returned.
An estimated 2,700 students from at least eight Los Angeles high
schools and junior high schools walked out of classes. In Phoenix,
police said 10,000 demonstrators marched to the office of Republican
Sen. Jon Kyl, co-sponsor of a bill that would give illegal immigrants
up to five years to leave the country. The turnout clogged a major
thoroughfare.
Kyl had no immediate comment on the rally.
At least 500 students at Huntington Park High School near Los Angeles
walked out of classes in the morning. Hundreds of the students, some
carrying Mexican flags, walked down the middle of Los Angeles streets.
In Georgia, activists said tens of thousands of workers did not show up
at their jobs Friday after calls for a work stoppage to protest a bill
passed by the Georgia House on Thursday.
That bill, which has yet to gain Senate approval, would deny state
services to adults living in the United States illegally and impose a 5
percent surcharge on wire transfers from illegal immigrants.
Supporters say the Georgia measure is vital to homeland security and
frees up limited state services for people legally entitled to them.
On Thursday, thousands of people filled the streets of Milwaukee for
what was billed as "A Day Without Latinos" to protest efforts in
Congress to target undocumented workers. Police estimated more than
10,000 people joined the demonstrations and march to downtown
Milwaukee. Organizers put the number at 30,000.
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