Thread: National City Immigration Rally Planned For Weekend

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Immigration Rally Planned For Weekend
Supporters Of Mayor Inzunza's Immigration Proposal Will Hold Rally


POSTED: 8:38 am PDT September 29, 2006
UPDATED: 5:01 pm PDT September 29, 2006

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- The stage is set for another protest -- and counter-protest -- this weekend in National City.

The issue is immigration, and National City Mayor Nick Inzunza’s declaration that the city shall become a sanctuary for immigrants.

More than 400 protestors came out last Saturday and more are expected this weekend.

Streets in National City will be closed off and there will be a heavy police presence.

Best known in recent years for its “mile of cars,” National City is now getting headlines for Inzunza’s immigrant sanctuary declaration.

“We've raised awareness on the immigrant debate, not all are here illegally. You cannot violate civil rights of all immigrants to find out which are illegal or not,” said Inzunza.

Immigration reform has generated mass demonstrations all over the country, including a high-profile gathering in May.

It was relatively quiet until last Saturday, when the San Diego Minutemen clashed in National City with immigrants rights groups.

“They want to come here? Fine, cross legally, no problem. Come across illegally, we got a problem,” said one Minutemen member.

“The U. S. is a sanctuary country. We're reaffirming the rights people have in this country,” said one sanctuary supporter.

National City Police may be caught in the middle. The officers union said it would uphold all local, state and federal laws, indicating IDs would still be checked. The official stance is a little different.

“The sanctuary issue doesn't involve law enforcement doing anything different. We're here to protect the community and it's what we'll continue to do,” said National City Police Capt. Manuel Rodriguez.

There are some very definite opinions in the wake of the sanctuary declaration.

“I think it's a good idea,” said one National City resident.

Another resident said, “It’s just not a good idea.”

“The people that live and work here, supporting me, go into restaurants, the folks in kitchen give me thumbs up. I walk down street and people in many languages tell me they believe in what I'm doing. We should be fighting for immigrants,” added Inzunza.

http://www.signonsandiego.com

National City prepares for rally


'Sanctuary city' event cancels others at park
By Tanya Sierra
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 29, 2006

NATIONAL CITY – In anticipation of the planned sanctuary city rally tomorrow, officials have canceled all events at Kimball Park and are closing the library for the day.

Mayor Nick Inzunza is proposing that the city become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, which means city funds won't be used to conduct immigration sweeps, normally a federal enforcement.

Immigrant rights activist Enrique Morones is organizing tomorrow's rally, which begins at noon at the Civic Center, to gather support for the idea.

As a result, police are preparing for crowds.

“We're trying to make sure that we have an environment that is conducive to people being able to demonstrate their right to free speech,” City Manager Chris Zapata said. “We want to make sure it's a safe environment.”

The San Diego Minutemen assembled in National City last week to protest tomorrow's sanctuary city rally. The event drew 400 protesters, mostly immigrant rights activists.

It lasted more than three hours and ended with one arrest of an anti-illegal immigration activist who is accused of kicking a San Diego County sheriff's deputy. Some said they were pepper sprayed by Minutemen and others claimed they were manhandled by police.

Officials did not provide a figure for the added cost to the city for extra police patrols despite several requests.

Inzunza has come under intense fire for proposing the idea. He has also been blasted by his own City Council for not consulting members before publicly announcing his plan.

“We don't live in a monarchy here,” Councilman Luis Natividad said. “I don't want to make it a Natividad (versus) mayor thing, but for (him) not even informing us ahead of time, I thought it was disrespectful.”

Inzunza said he is merely fulfilling his moral obligation to protect human rights and that he does not want the city to become a public venue for bashing undocumented immigrants.

However, council members say Inzunza has done more harm than good because he turned a city with few immigration conflicts into a platform for disruptive protesters.

Natividad, who has spent his life working in the Latino community and has been a mentor to many, says a simple declaration means nothing if you don't act on it.

“If you have that much energy, then go down to the canyons and clothe and feed them,” Natividad said. “He wants to go through all the trouble in gathering a lot of people, then he should be in North County where they're passing laws that affect them.”

Council members do not plan to be at tomorrow's rally, which includes speakers and music, because it is not a city-sanctioned event. However, the mayor's office has issued a proclamation declaring National City a sanctuary city, and the city's police and public works departments are planning for the rally.

“We're doing all of this at the expense of the people of National City all for a publicity stunt for the mayor,” Councilman Ron Morrison said.

Inzunza said he is rejecting “the hysteria being created to align immigrants with terrorists, homeland security or any other threat to our nation.”

Meanwhile, the city's police officer's union has already warned Inzunza that they will continue to uphold all public laws, whether they are local, state or federal.

Morones said he has received positive feedback and believes supporters are advocating human rights.

“Good will triumph over evil every time,” he said.

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Tanya Sierra: (619) 498-6631; tanya.sierra@uniontrib.com