Thread: Counter-immigration rallies planned at Hastert's office

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Counter-immigration rallies planned at Hastert's office

By Matthew DeFour
Staff writer

BATAVIA — With signs declaring "Equal Treatment Means Equal Law Enforcement" and with toilet brushes and brooms, two groups plan to stage counter-immigration rallies on May 13 in what could be the largest demonstration ever at the Batavia office of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Organizers from a group called Citizens Protecting Your Rights plan to march three blocks from Batavia's East Side Community Center to Hastert's office at 1 p.m. May 13, group president Yvonne Dinwiddie said.

"We're not protesters," Dinwiddie said. "If we had our druthers, we would not be having a physical rally. But no one is putting forth American citizens' point of view."

The Illinois Minuteman Project also plans to stage a separate rally at Hastert's office at the same time, according to group co-founder Rosanna Pulido.

"We're asking people to come out with their toilet bowl brushes, their brooms, their lawn mowers, their pots and pans and to tell Mr. Hastert, we will do our job, now you do yours," Pulido said.

She said her organization is not familiar with Citizens Protecting Your Rights, though they might support similar goals.

Dinwiddie said it was "absolutely intentional" that her group's event is scheduled for the same time and place as an immigrant rights rally announced earlier this week by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

That rally was scheduled for Mother's Day Weekend to ask Washington lawmakers to pass immigration reform that will keep families together.

All three groups expect their rallies to be peaceful.



Police prepared


Batavia police are preparing for anywhere from a few hundred to 2,000 people to attend the rallies, according to Police Cmdr. Greg Thrun. Law enforcement from other communities will be tapped to lend a hand to Batavia officers.
"We're expecting this to be a big event," Thrun said.

Though the immigrant-rights group applied for a permit first, all three rallies will be accommodated in order to protect First Amendment rights, Thrun added.

May 13 will be the second time this year that the immigration issue has drawn dueling demonstrations to Batavia. The Illinois Minutemen Project and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights squared off on Feb. 26 over a Senate bill that would give young people brought here illegally the ability to attain a college degree.

That provision, known as the DREAM Act, was sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and is part of the immigration reform debate that is starting up again in the Senate.



'Breaking the law'


According to Dinwiddie, Citizens Protecting Your Rights started about 10 years ago as an organization dedicated to defending the Constitution against abuse. The May 13 counter protest also is being sponsored by Citizens for Law Enforcement and Veterans for Law Enforcement.
Citizens Protecting Your Rights advocates stricter enforcement of current immigration laws and empowering local authorities to arrest, penalize and seize the assets of illegal immigrants and those who employ them.

"Illegal immigrants are breaking the law," Dinwiddie said. "When they say 'Si Se Puede,' it means 'We can break the law and take over the United States and you can't do anything about it.'"

05/05/06

The demonstrations are on the issue of illegal aliens and not immigrants rights as the legal immigrants already have theirs. The DREAM Act is not about the right of students to study in a college or university instead it is about creating the right of the illegal alien students to obtain education funded at your expense.

The rally is great. I think many are getting the feeling we need to be more visible.

I support them all the way. I just love the Minutemen. I think they are so great. But Bush has them down as vigilantes, so I really support the grass roots group from Chicago.