http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/434647.html


Published: May 01, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: May 01, 2006 05:59 AM

Immigrants rallying hope
Immigration boycott supporters trust that a day of mass actions can affect U.S. policy


At a pro-immigration rally in downtown Burlington in advance of today's mass actions, demonstrators collect signatures for petitions supporting immigration reform. About 50 businesses in Burlington helped organize the event.
Staff Photo by Takaaki Iwabu

Todd Silberman, Staff Writer; The Associated Press

BURLINGTON - Armando Salazar has deadlines to meet for his painting and drywall business, so he must work today while many other immigrants participate in a nationwide boycott aimed at drawing attention to immigration issues.

But Sunday, Salazar, 35, an Apex resident, traveled three counties away with his wife and two young children to show support for the same cause. Salazar was one of about 1,000 people, most of them Hispanic, who gathered in front of this small city's historic train station to rally for immigration reform.

"I'm just supporting all my people," he said, clutching a small American flag in one hand and his 4-year-old son, Jesus, in his other. "It's very important that the president and everyone in Washington do something about this immigration situation. They should give a permit for people to be legal."

Salazar came to the United States as a teenager, attended high school in Houston and has been a North Carolina resident for much of his adult life.

He said he hopes today's boycott "will get everyone's attention."

Organizers of Sunday's rally said they wanted to do the same, by underscoring the significance of the "day of action" by calling for individuals to join in some way, whether or not they could choose not to work.

"We have to think of how we're going to participate," said Alfonso Lopez, sales manager for a Spanish-language radio station in Greensboro and a key speaker during the two-hour event. "Working people ... must have a right to come out from the shadows and live like everyone else. We are just asking for what is fair and just."

Dozens of people in the crowd that filled the downtown street held printed signs protesting a House bill that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally and calls also for the construction of a fence along part of the nation's border with Mexico.

On the reverse side, the signs carried other messages that read "Criminalizing the American dream is wrong," "Hispanic buying power in North Carolina exceeded $8 billion in 2004," and "Slavery was the law. The law was wrong. The law was changed."

Laura Guzman, who owns Guzman's Market in Burlington, said she planned to close her grocery store Monday and give all 11 of her employees a paid day off. Her workers, she said, include Hispanics and native-born Americans.

"We've got to support the people who are asking for an opportunity for a better life," Guzman said. "They work hard to help keep the American economy going. They are my customers and my employees."

Others said they would forgo the day's pay.

"Sometimes you've got to do something," said Narciso Varrera, 33, a father of two who came Sunday dressed in a blue button-down shirt from Golden Corral, where he had just finished his shift as a cook. He said he would not work today.

"I'm part of this community," said the Burlington resident, who has lived in the United States for a dozen years. "I'm looking for the future of my kids."

Karla Mejia won't go to her job today as a seamstress for Kayser Roth in Burlington, and she also won't be paid.

Her point, she said through an interpreter: "To allow people to be in this country."

Mejia, 31, who lives in Graham, came to the United States from Honduras 14 years ago and has lived in North Carolina for the past 10 years.

Maribel Salas attended the rally with her husband, Ruben, and four children. The family came from Mexico 12 years ago.

She said through her 15-year-old son, Javier, that she plans not to work today at her job at Alamance Foods.

"It is hard not getting paid," she said. "But I also want to fight for my rights."

Javier, a freshman at Eastern Alamance High School, said he was considering not attending classes today and going instead to a march in Greensboro.

Others attended the rally just to show support.

"I hope people understand how important immigrants are," said Rachel Copeland, 22, a senior at nearby Elon University. "My family came on the Mayflower, but they were immigrants, too."

Staff writer Todd Silberman can be reached at 829-4531 or todds@newsobserver.com.