Thread: Immigration rights marches losing steam?

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Immigration rights marches losing steam?
Ongoing crackdowns driving some supporters underground, organizers fear.
By Juan Castillo

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Two years ago, millions marched for legal rights for unauthorized immigrants in coordinated events across the country. The massive turnouts stunned even supporters,but they also inflamed some opponents of illegal immigration.

A year later, the crowds thinned. Now, as they prepare for another round of May Day demonstrations in support of more liberal laws, some Austin organizers say fear and fatigue have sapped some of the marches' vigor.

"When year after year you fight and you fight without any kind of real attention and concern by our legislators, it's only logical that people might wear themselves out and maybe get discouraged from coming out again," said Luissana Santibañez of Familias Unidas por la Esperanza (Families United for Hope).

"The enthusiasm has diminished," said Josefina Castilloof the American Friends Service Committee. "I think people are really fearful of coming out as they did in 2006 because they know about (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and how every immigrant is threatened by being not only detained and deported but being put into jail, and that is pretty harsh."

Organizers with the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition are planning rallies and marches in downtown Austin on Thursday, which is International Workers' Day.

The events coincide with demonstrations across the country in support of what is often called comprehensive immigration reform, which generally includes securing the border, creating paths to legalization for illegal immigrants already in the United States, and expanding the number of available visas so that more people can enter the U.S. legally.

With Congress failing to enact immigration reforms, federal immigration officials have dramatically stepped up raids and arrests, detentions and deportations. The crackdowns and increased presence of immigration agents in the Travis County Jail are a prominent focus of Thursday's local events, which begin with a 4:30 p.m. rally at the Capitol.

Protesters plan to walk past the jail during the march, which starts at 5:30 at the Capitol and ends with a rally at Austin City Hall.

Thousands marched last year, though fewer than in 2006, when police estimated that 8,500 people protested in Austin. (Organizers said the turnout was closer to 40,000.)

Omar Angel, a 31-year-old former day laborer from Mexico, said crackdowns and the presence of agents in the jail checking inmates' immigration status are fostering distrust and fear of law enforcement among undocumented immigrants and their family members, many of whom are citizens or legal permanent residents and fear separation from their loved ones.

Despite such fears, some will march because they believe it's important to speak out against the crackdowns, said Angel, who works with Proyecto Defensa Laboral (the Workers Defense Project).

Declining participation in the marches may also be due to a feeling among immigrants that the demonstrations haven't accomplished much and that they are powerless to make a difference, organizer Antolin Aguirre said.

Immigrant advocates hailed the 2006 demonstrations for helping block legislation that would have made living in the U.S. illegally a felony. But opponents of illegal immigration decried the protests, calling them brazen displays by immigration lawbreakers.

www.statesman.com

Two years ago, millions marched for legal rights for unauthorized immigrants in coordinated events across the country. The massive turnouts stunned even supporters,but they also inflamed some opponents of illegal immigration.

I don't think American citizens would qualify as SOME opponents of illegal immigration. WE are THE majority and We are AWAKE, thanks to these marches. Amnesty failed because WE will not allow another amnesty ever!

Omar Angel, a 31-year-old former day laborer from Mexico, said crackdowns and the presence of agents in the jail checking inmates' immigration status are fostering distrust and fear of law enforcement among undocumented immigrants and their family members, many of whom are citizens or legal permanent residents and fear separation from their loved ones.

Angel seems annoyed and insulted that immigration agents might actually be in jails to check the immigration status of people who have been arrested. If they are legal residents or citizens, then they have nothing to worry about.

Whatever! I make the same argument almost daily regarding these people. It never seems to end...

"Declining participation in the marches may also be due to a feeling among immigrants that the demonstrations haven't accomplished much and that they are powerless to make a difference, organizer Antolin Aguirre said. "

Or maybe they realized, and wisely at that, that their marches are really ticking off the folks that vote and contact their legislators.

wake me up when it's over

Related:

Miami Herald
Posted on Wed, Apr. 30, 2008
Immigration rallies expected to be smaller

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
Just two years ago, hundreds of thousands of people rallied from Los Angeles to New York to Miami in a massive demonstration of immigrant power.

It was a defiant display that generated not just broad political support for legalization of millions of undocumented workers, but also created a backlash that helped sink the reforms.

This May, amid an economic slump and an ongoing enforcement crackdown prompted in part by the failure of immigration reform in Congress, a planned series of rallies across the country will be far smaller than those history-making demonstrations.

In South Florida, advocacy groups have opted for an upbeat family affair -- a cultural festival in Florida City -- designed in part to bring out immigrants who skipped demonstrations last year out of fear of attracting unwanted attention from authorities.

The event is designed to put immigrants in a positive light, with troupes performing dramatic tableaus and folkloric music and dances from Mexico, Guatemala and Argentina. There also will be talks highlighting opposition to immigration raids that often break up families when some members are deported.

''We want people to come out and not be afraid,'' said Blanca Mendoza, president of the Guatemalan Association, an event sponsor. ``The purpose is to lift their spirits.''

To allow working families to attend, the main event is happening on Saturday not Thursday -- the day picked for the immigration rallies because May 1 is traditionally International Workers Day in Latin America.

Thursday will see what is expected to be a modest evening protest march from Little Haiti to the old immigration building at Northeast 79th Street and Biscayne Boulevard.

Organizers and participants say the 2006 national demonstrations marked a watershed in the immigrants' rights movement, helping to block a congressional bill that would have criminalized undocumented workers, while engaging bipartisan support for a comprehensive bill that would have put millions on a path to legalization.

But they also concede those marches, in which many participants waved foreign flags, energized a hard-line opposition that helped defeat the reform bill.

''Had it not been for the street visibility of millions of people, we might not have fared as well as we have,'' said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, which is coordinating this week's local events.

But Rodriguez and other advocates say the timing is not right for another massive demonstration. Many immigrants are feeling anxious or discouraged by the federal crackdown, which has focused on dragnets of people who have ignored deportation orders, as well as undocumented workers using forged or stolen papers.

Meanwhile, political prospects are dim for a resumption of the legalization push in a presidential election year. Some advocates are calling for the next president to tackle reform promptly, but many observers believe even that goal to be politically unrealistic.

''It was such a special moment then when there was a threat and an opportunity,'' Rodriguez said of the 2006 rallies. ``There was hope. Right now there is not the same level of hope. It's a very different moment.

``There is definitely a lot more fear now than there was then. People are afraid of being noticed in any way.''

Rodriguez noted that fear of exposure is not limited to illegal immigrants, since a large number of immigrant families have mixed status -- that is, some members may be illegal while others are U.S. citizens or legal residents.

Organizers won't hazard a guess as to how many people to expect Saturday. Even two years ago, rallies in Miami did not attract anywhere near the massive numbers of those in Los Angeles, Chicago or Washington -- at best 10,000 rallied from Homestead to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Larger demonstrations took place in Orlando.

Last year, after Congress voted down a bipartisan reform bill, May 1 immigration rallies attracted only a fraction of the previous years' numbers. In Miami, some 1,000 protesters rallied in downtown Miami.

In part, advocates say, that's because Cubans, representing by far the largest nationality among South Florida immigrants, tend to have relatively few immigration issues. The Cuban Adjustment Act allows most to become legal residents after one year in the country.

''Those more directly affected are the ones who take the visible action of turning out into the street,'' Rodriguez said. ``It's not like Miami has a long tradition of activism, either.''

Also, since Congress failed to enact reforms last year, many advocacy groups have turned their focus to naturalization and voter-registration drives as the best way to boost immigrants' political influence. Political experts say the immigrant vote could be a significant factor in November's presidential vote.

Some activists say that could be the best possible demonstration of the need for legalization and other reforms.

What are billed as major marches and a rally are occurring Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. Vigils, marches and demonstrations are also scheduled in Houston, San Diego and Manhattan, among other places.

In Miami, demonstrators will march Thursday at 6 p.m. from the Jacques Dessalines Center in Little Haiti to the immigration building.

On Saturday, caravans will leave for Florida City from three locations: San Juan Bosco Church in Little Havana, the Miami Workers Center in Liberty City and the American Fraternity office in western Miami-Dade County.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breakin ... 15392.html

Immigration rights marches losing steam?

Like a Cow Pattie loses steam

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http://www.alipac.us/article-3145--0-0.html

Gee lets be nice American's and stand on the street corner with Kool-Aid for every marcher . Oh yeah Not in this life time . I hope it's a 120F and everyone watching is wearing a ICE cap

I don’t believe the issue is Hispanics the problem is ILLEGALS, ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS, the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, and other SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. Since the ILLEGALS’ infamous L.A. march displaying their mexican flags demanding their rights United States citizens are distrustful of any organized protest demanding anything. The situation will remain this way until our National Borders are secured and our Immigration Laws are Enforced. Our Elitist Politicians at the demand of their Elitist Political Contributors, Chamber of Commerce, and other Special Interest Groups will not allow the problem to be solved for fear of losing a dollar.