illegal alien supporters plan mass marches on LABOR DAY!
Posted on Wednesday, August 16 @ 13:17:46 EDT
Topic: illegal immigration alien riots crimes
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 The head of one of the main Latino organizations behind last spring's massive pro-illegal immigrant marches said Tuesday activists are planning a similar large-scale demonstration on Labor Day.
Topics: illegal aliens, immigration, protests, riots, mob rule, crimes, laws, street protests, labor, unions, depressed wages
8/16/2006
By Araceli Esparza Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News
Nativo Lopez, director of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a pro-immigrant group, said he expects at least 20,000 people to turn out for a Sept. 4 march to be held in Wilmington, near the ports of Long Beach. That march could kick off a series of demonstrations lasting through the month of September, Lopez said.
And for the first time, pro-immigrant activists will mesh their cause with the labor movement, Lopez added.
Teamsters, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and other union members will join pro-illegal immigrant activists and their supporters at the Sept. 4 event, Lopez said.
The aim, he added, is to show a "united refutation" of immigration reform proposals that would hurt the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living here.
"For the first time, this will be the immigrant rights' Labor Day with labor workers," Lopez said. "This will be a show of unity between the labor movement and the immigrant rights movement for fair immigration legislation."
Union officials are attempting to organize certain categories of employees who work at the ports in Long Beach. Last week, however, the nation's largest unions agreed to help organize day laborers, many of whom are here illegally.
The nexus of organized labor and the illegal immigrant work force could create a powerful combination that would benefit both groups, said Randy Ertll, executive director of El Centro de Accion Social in Pasadena.
Lopez said the partnership solidified during last week's Immigrant Strategy Convention held in Chicago and involving dozens of pro-immigrant groups and union officials - more than 400 organizations from 40 states.
From that gathering, organizers formed a new coalition, the National Alliance for Immigrant Rights, he said.
That coalition now is organizing pro-immigrant/pro-labor marches in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, New York and other large cities, according to Lopez.
"The ultimate goal is to get bipartisan support from both the House and the Senate," Ertll said. "The immigration debate has gone under the radar. What's being done is to get attention to the issue again."
Indeed, some Latino activists have expressed frustration over the lack of action on immigration reform in Washington. Others expected to see the issue move forward after the massive marches in downtown Los Angeles and other major cities this past spring.
While activists have launched a voter-registration drive that aims to register 1million new Latino voters, others say that process is slow and has so far made no progress in breaking the stalemate over immigration reform.
Next month could see other mass demonstrations by pro-immigrant organizers, as September is Hispanic Heritage Month and is also when many Latin American countries celebrate independence days, Lopez noted.
The aim of the actions is to bring immigration reform to the forefront in time for the November elections - but reform that includes a guest-worker program and a path toward legalization for undocumented immigrants, Lopez said.
"No one knows where the immigration debate will be, especially as the elections come," Ertll said. "People have become frustrated that it's become a never-ending debate."
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