Texas protesters arrive to march against SB 1070

by Amy B Wang - May. 15, 2010 12:56 PM
The Arizona Republic

Protests against Arizona's new immigration law continued Saturday morning, more than three weeks after the controversial bill was signed.

Around 10 a.m., about 60 protesters from Dallas spilled from two Pullman buses outside the Wells Fargo Tower in downtown Phoenix. Waving American flags, they marched along Washington Street for nearly an hour, chanting and holding signs that read "Repeal SB1070."

"We find that what Arizona has done has been the most un-Christian, un-American, unconstitutional law that's passed since Jim Crow in the 1960s," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The Dallas-based Latino civil-rights organization organized the two-day bus journey, dubbed "Freedom Riders."

Local organizer Rev. John Mireles said the Freedom Riders is a "contemporary effort to revive the civil-rights movement and target the racist legislation that's happening in Arizona."

The youngest protester was 8 years old, the oldest, 72.

Shaun Chapa, 30, of Denton, Texas, said he joined the group because his fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi, had spoken out against the bill.

"Racal profiling, that's the basic thing we're coming out against," said Chapa, a graduate student at the University of North Texas. "Arizona's a part of the country and we're all united."

No supporters of the bill were present at the morning protest.

The buses departed Dallas on Thursday and made stops in El Paso, Las Cruces, N.M., and Nogales before arriving in Phoenix.

Garcia said it was important to travel to Arizona because the state has become the epicenter for the national immigration debate.

"Arizona's become the new Mississippi," Garcia said. "We want President Obama and the Senate and Congress - and hopefully a few courageous Republicans - to join in passing a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill."

The group plans to continue protesting this afternoon at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, where former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is expected to appear with Gov. Jan Brewer at a 4:45 p.m. campaign event.
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