Thread: 5,000 rally in Detroit for immigrant rights

5,000 rally in Detroit for immigrant rights
By Niraj Warikoo • Free Press Staff Writer • May 1, 2009

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Waving Mexican and U.S. flags, thousands of immigrants and their supporters rallied in southwest Detroit today for immigrant rights.

Rally organizers called for comprehensive immigration reform that would offer a path to citizenship for legal and illegal immigrants, and for an end to deportations that they say separate families.

Over the past four years, the number of deportations in Michigan and across the U.S. has sharply increased.

For fiscal year 2008, 7,514 illegal immigrants in Michigan and Ohio were deported, compared to 4,144 in fiscal year 2007, an 81 percent increase. Compared to 2005, when 2,243 illegal immigrants were deported, that’s a 235 percent increase.

The rally started at Patton Park and ended at Clark Park in the heart of the Mexican-American community. Ralliers held up placards that read “Stop the Raids,â€

I wonder how well this went over in Detroit where they have a very high unemployment among legal Americans

Protesting deportations
Thousands rally in Detroit, calling for immigration reforms as officials increasingly crack down on undocumented Michigan residents

BY NIRAJ WARIKOO • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • May 2, 2009


Facing a sharp increase in deportations, thousands of immigrants and their supporters rallied in southwest Detroit on Friday, calling for comprehensive immigration reform and an end to deportations they say separate families.
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During the past four years, the number of deportations in Michigan and across the United States has increased as the government tries to crack down on illegal immigration.

There were 7,514 illegal immigrants in Michigan and Ohio who were deported from Oct. 1, 2007 to Sept. 30, 2008 -- up 81% from the previous fiscal year, when there were 4,144 deportations, according to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the government agency that oversees deportations.

Compared with 2005, when 2,243 illegal immigrants were deported, it is a 235% increase.

Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the immigration agency, said the government has "increased strategic enforcement efforts to identity and remove criminal and fugitive aliens." Waving Mexican and U.S. flags, the demonstrators started at Patton Park and ended at Clark Park in the heart of metro Detroit's Mexican-American community. The crowd held up placards that read "Stop the Raids," "Legalize Hard Work" and "No Human is Illegal."

"We need a more humane approach to immigration reform," said Rosendo Delgado, event co-organizer with the Detroit group Latinos Unidos. Detroit police estimated between 5,000 to 7,000 people attended Friday's march and rally.

Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO: 248-351-2998 or warikoo@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/article/20090502/NEWS05/905020370