Thread: Thousands of demonstrators in Dallas kick off lobbying effor

A march for migrant action

Thousands of demonstrators in Dallas kick off lobbying effort to overhaul U.S. rules


12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 2, 2007
By ISABEL C. MORALES and OCTAVIO RIVERA Al Día

Between 3,000 and 5,000 demonstrators took to Dallas streets Tuesday evening chanting, "Sí se puede," "It can be done" as they called for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.



Photos by MELANIE BURFORD/DMN
Amid a flurry of American flags, Derrick Ferralez (right), 11, watched as immigration rights advocates marched Tuesday from St. Cecilia's Catholic Church to Beckley Avenue at West Jefferson Boulevard. The march began with a prayer at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church on West Davis Street and wove up Jefferson Boulevard, past Oak Cliff businesses that cater to immigrants. Along the way, marchers made a stop at the office of U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions.

The march kicked off a three-day phone lobbying effort seeking some sort of program to give illegal immigrants legal status.

Mr. Sessions, who has supported tighter border restrictions, issued a written statement Tuesday saying he remains "committed to reforming our nation's broken immigration system."

"While we will continue to be a nation that welcomes immigrants, we must also be a nation that upholds the rule of law," he said. "Consequently, we must not reward illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship."

Demonstrators, escorted by seven police motorcycles and a dozen patrol cars, shouted, "Bush, listen to the people. ... We deserve a chance," a small plane overhead pulled a banner that read: 'USA. Love it or leave it.' It also displayed the Mexican flag with a big X through it, as well as the word "amnesty" crossed out.

The march was one of dozens planned across the country to push for federal legislation to restructure the nation's immigration system.

Tuesday's rallies drew only a fraction of the million-plus protesters who turned out around the country last year.

In Los Angeles, where several hundred thousand turned out last year, about 25,000 attended the first of two scheduled rallies, said police Capt. Andrew Smith. In Chicago, where more than 400,000 swarmed the streets a year earlier, police officials estimated Tuesday's gathering at 150,000.

Organizers said those who marched felt a sense of urgency to keep immigration at the forefront of the 2008 presidential elections. A fear of immigration raids and frustration that last year's marches hadn't motivated Congress to act were blamed for keeping others at home.

And some think the marches are counterproductive.

After the estimated 350,000 to 500,000 who swelled into the streets last year, the smaller crowds aren't impressive, some community members say.


Lobbying

"The time for marches has ended," said Gustavo Bujanda Jr., a marketing specialist in Dallas who helped organize last year's rally.

A better strategy, he said, would be targeted lobbying, letter-writing, and even posting billboards to thank members of Congress for their support.

Tuesday's event in Dallas followed a rally at Dallas City Hall four weeks ago that drew between 2,000 to 5,000 persons, according to law enforcement and city officials. A year ago on Palm Sunday, hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into downtown Dallas to support immigrant rights, in what became the largest social protest in Texas history. That march began at the downtown Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Gustavo Jiménez, one of the march supporters and a teenager who helped lead student walkouts a year ago in Dallas area schools, stressed the importance of registering to vote.

"We are the future. We have to get out and vote," he said. "We are the ones who will be in the White House and in Congress making these decisions for our people."

Last week in Miami, President Bush lobbied again for federal lawmakers to improve the nation's immigration laws "without amnesty and without animosity."

Mr. Bush has said he wants tougher border enforcement, a guest worker program and a legalization program for some of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants. But there's been a backlash against any legalization program viewed as a free pass to legal status.


'Touchback'

Under a bill introduced in March by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., illegal immigrants would pay a fine and would be required to leave the country before applying for legal re-entry – a provision nicknamed "touchback." A White House proposal this year suggested that the fines be as high as $10,000.

The size of the fines and the touchback provision are fighting points as federal lawmakers seek a compromise bill.

Margarita Alvarez, a legal immigrant from Guatemala, said she wants the nation's immigration laws overhauled.

Illegal immigrants "aren't delinquents, terrorists or undesirables," the former Guatemalan union organizer said. "They are workers, worthy of good immigration laws."

One of the rallying cries for demonstrators Tuesday was a call to end detention and deportation.

"I want my daddy back. I miss him," read the message on a T-shirt worn by 3-year-old Jenny Loredo.

Her father was deported in June, her mother, Angelina Loredo, said.

Guido Ruiz, a waiter from the restaurant El Ranchito who took the day off work to join the march, said: "If we don't march, no one will know what we need. We're not political pawns. The only thing we want to do is work."

Staff writer Dianne Solis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

E-mail imorales@aldiatx.com and orivera@aldiatx.com
http://www.dallasnews.com

Mr. Sessions, who has supported tighter border restrictions, issued a written statement Tuesday saying he remains "committed to reforming our nation's broken immigration system."

This is where we part ways, Mr. Sessions.............
We do NOT have a BROKEN immigration system!
We have a system that is NOT ENFORCED!!!

I certainly hope that you, Mr. Sessions, will begin to realize that the mantra "broken system" has run it's course and is nothing more than a bunch of hooey.

Other than that, go get em, Jeff!!!

"We are the future. We have to get out and vote," he said. "We are the ones who will be in the White House and in Congress making these decisions for our people."

God help us, if this should ever come to pass we'll all be speaking Spanish

A better strategy, he said, would be targeted lobbying, letter-writing, and even posting billboards to thank members of Congress for their support.

I hope and pray they do post those billboards! Legitimate voters NEED to see up close and personal who is betraying this country!

Come on folks. Jump over to here to help us counter the foreign invasion lobby!

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... &start=200