Thread: CA: Immigrants rights backers to march Saturday in Watsonvil

Immigrant rights backers to march Saturday in Watsonville
By Donna Jones
Posted: 04/27/2010 06:40:02 PM PDT
Updated: 04/27/2010 06:40:02 PM PDT

WATSONVILLE — An annual protest for immigrant rights takes on special significance this year with the recent passage of a new Arizona law cracking down on undocumented immigrants.

The protest, 4-8 p.m. Saturday at the City Plaza, will include a rally, march, entertainment, children's activities and free consultations with immigration lawyers.

Organizer Ramiro Medrano said he expects bigger crowds than in the past couple of years due to the new Arizona law.

"People start rallying when they are really angry about something," Medrano said. "In the long run, (the Arizona law) is going to help the movement. People have been stagnant or just passive. We need that spark." The new law, signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday, makes it a state crime to be in the country without the proper documents. It also allows police to stop people they suspect of being illegal immigrants and ask to see their papers.

Critics say the law will lead to racial profiling and is a state usurpation of federal authority. Medrano said he fears it will fuel anti-immigrant sentiment.

"It has racial overtones," Medrano said. "It's going to target Mexicans and Central Americans and South Americans. ... I don't think anyone is going to stop Anglos and ask if they are from Europe or Canada." Supporters say Arizona had no choice.

"If the federal government had been doing its job, the Arizona Legislature wouldn't have had to take this action, but there comes a point where a state government must protect the rights of their citizens," said Santa Cruz lawyer Tim Morgan. "All they're doing in Arizona is enforcing federal law." Federal immigration reform stalled after a 2007 proposal by President George W. Bush failed to win enough support. The Bush plan called for increased border security while providing a path to legal status for millions.

Morgan said the federal effort to tackle border security in the meantime as been merely "talk." The Arizona law is bound to strike a chord in Watsonville, where about 70 percent of the population is Latino and many undocumented field workers live and raise families.

Medrano said he's been interviewed on Spanish-language radio and television stations, some of which have been giving round-the-clock attention to the Arizona law and have promoted Saturday's event as well.

In 2006, as Congress debated tightening immigration policy, a crowd estimated at 6,000 to 10,000 people marched through the streets of Watsonville and Pajaro in support of immigrants on May 1.

Since then, with immigration on the back burner, crowds have numbered in the hundreds. Medrano doesn't expect a 2006 turnout, but he anticipates more people than in the recent past.

As yet, organizers do not have a permit for the march, according to police. In March 2006, activists failed to get a permit for a immigrant rights march and paid a $1,414 fine as a result.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14971212

ENFORCE CURRENT IMMIGRATION LAWS. WE DO NOT NEED NEW LAWS. DEPORT ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS.