Saturday, July 25, 2009   7 comments


photo by Brie Cohen

As the sun started to fall and the night set in, the three groups started to yell at each other. Things got heated when a few people from Centro Campesino walked over to the group from the National Socialist Movement. Here, Ernesto Velez pulls people back and brings them over to the Centro Campesino camp, as Sam Johnson, right, southest Minnesota unit leader of the National Socialist Movement, yells back.





Shouting match at immigration vigil
Groups protest, no arrests made
By Sarah Stultz | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Saturday, July 25, 2009

What started as an immigration reform vigil organized through nonprofit organization Centro Campesino turned into a shouting match by three different entities in Albert Lea on Friday on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Fountain Street.

Though the yelling was heated, no arrests were made. Albert Lea police officers stood by through the entirety of the protest, which began at 8 p.m.

One officer could be seen with a video camera taping the events, in case anything got out of hand.

By 10 p.m., most protesters had left the area, though there were a few remaining.

During the vigil, protesters stood on both sides of the Fountain Street. Many cars honked as they came through the area, and some people even shouted out of their windows.

On one side were Centro Campesino supporters, who said they came to Albert Lea as part of the group’s Journey of Hope campaign, which has a goal of keeping the light of immigration reform alive.

They carried signs with phrases such as “No more raids!â€