Thread: Hispanics march in Milwaukee against immigration bills

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/23/latino ... index.html

(CNN) -- Thousands of demonstrators marched in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday to oppose tough anti-immigration legislation sponsored by their Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.

House Resolution 4437 would make all undocumented immigrants felons and require all employers to verify the immigration status of its employees.

The House already has passed Sensenbrenner's bill, and Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that also would make it a felony to be in the United States without the proper paperwork.

Sensenbrenner said in a statement last year that his bill would help "regain control of our borders and prevent illegal immigration" as well as "help strengthen and promote our compassionate and welcoming legal immigration system."

About 30,000 protesters on Thursday marched into downtown Milwaukee as part of a demonstration titled "A Day Without Latinos" in which Latinos were encouraged to take time from their jobs to march, according to Voces de la Frontera, which organized the event. A police spokesman said the crowd was between 10,000 and 15,000.

Dozens of Milwaukee businesses also closed Thursday in protest.

"A Day Without Latinos," the theme of the Milwaukee protest, borrows its name from a 2004 comedy called "A Day Without a Mexican," in which California wakes up one day to find that its Hispanic residents have inexplicably disappeared.

The Milwaukee march was one of several recent protests organized across the nation by groups opposed to immigration bills considered by Congress.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has until Monday to vote on the competing legislation, but one Senate aide said the prospects on Senators taking action did not seem bright. The aide called negotiations in the Senate "slow going" and predicted a showdown over the bill.

Critics of the legislation say Sensenbrenner is trying to deport the 11 million to 12 million people who are in the United States illegally. Proponents say keeping tabs on immigrants is vital to national security. President Bush echoed that sentiment in comments to reporters Thursday.

"Part of enforcing our borders is to have a guest-worker program that encourages people to register their presence, so that we know who they are and says to them, 'If you're doing a job an American won't do, you're welcome here for a period of time to do that job.' "

But Democrats are saying the Frist and Sensenbrenner measures go too far.

"This bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York.

The Web site for Voces de la Frontera, which in Spanish means Voices from the Border, states that in addition to turning immigrants into felons and pressuring employers, Sensenbrenner's bill also could affect immigrants' driving privileges and emergency medical care.

Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based organization focused on educating low-wage and immigrant workers about their rights, said in a statement that Sensenbrenner's bill essentially "would destroy our human dignity."

Other protests are planned in Atlanta, where an alliance of Hispanic organizations is encouraging Latino residents to participate in a commercial boycott and work stoppage Friday to demonstrate how Latinos help bolster the Georgia economy.

On Saturday more than 2,500 groups plan to participate in a rally in Los Angeles, California. The state ranks first in Hispanic population, according to the Census Bureau. Organizers are predicting that up to 500,000 people will attend, and they hope to outdo Chicago, Illinois, where an estimated 300,000 protesters demonstrated two weeks ago.

Chicago's record turnout was achieved because Sensenbrenner and Frist have introduced some of "the most restrictive immigration legislation in 70 years," said Doug Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum.

"It doesn't fix our immigration system. It only drives it underground," he said.

Why is it that the idiots of this world think that America is THE ONLY COUNTRY NOT ALLOWED TO ENFORCE IT's BORDERS? Is it because we have helped basically every other country in this world and now people just expect us to help all illegals who want to come here and take advantage of what we have built? And I feel like we are being taken advantage of . Americans have gotten too soft in the last 20 or 30 years, we need some of the good ole John Wayne Americans back! And we need a John Wayne president, too! If we had a John Wayne president, this would not be happening in this country at all right now, illegals would be loaded up and shipped right out! Dang........I guess I can dream.........

Waves of immigration have happened throughout history. Just read the Old Testament to learn what happens to a people when another group moves in. Consider the American immigrants invited into Mexico by the government. A rift between the Mexicans and the Texans led to revolution and the establishment of the independent Texas Republic.

Thousands in Milwaukee protest targets on undocumented workers


By Emily Fredrix
ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:31 p.m. March 23, 2006

MILWAUKEE – Thousands of people filled the streets Thursday for what was billed as “A Day Without Latinos” to protest efforts in Congress to target undocumented workers.
Police estimated that more than 10,000 people joined the demonstrations and march to downtown Milwaukee. Organizers put the number at 30,000.

“We came to work, not to be discriminated against,” said Juan Hernandez, who said his boss gave him and more than a dozen other restaurant workers permission to join the protest. “We want to be equal.”

About 90 Latino-owned businesses on the south side were closed for all or part of the day in support, according to Voces de la Frontera, the rally's organizer. About a dozen businesses in Racine and Kenosha also closed as several hundred people protested in downtown Racine.

The protesters oppose a bill that passed the U.S. House in December that would make it a felony to be illegally in the United States. The bill also would impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and would erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.

The title of the demonstration is borrowed from the 2004 mockumentary “A Day Without A Mexican,” which considers what would happen to California if all Latinos there suddenly disappeared.

Wearing shirts that proclaimed “We are not criminals” and waving American, Mexican and other flags, thousands of people young and old listened to speakers from the business and religious communities and political activists.

Raul Alcantara was among nearly 100 staffers and teachers who skipped work at the Milwaukee Technical College to attend the rally.

“We fully disagree because this country is built on immigrants,” said Alcantara, a math teacher originally from Mexico. “We will fight together.”

They also rallied against the prospect of illegal immigrants losing their driving privileges in the next few years. A new federal law requires states to verify whether drivers license applicants are American citizens or legal residents by 2008.
'“We never close our eyes to any injustice against any human being,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, president of Voces de la frontera, the rally's organizer.

Link to a slide show with audio.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=410241

ICE should be taking pictures so they can round up the illegal immigrants at these marches and send them back home when the Senate passes its version of the illegal immigration bill.

Originally Posted by Brian503a

Link to a slide show with audio.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=410241

I'm surprised the bridges withstood the weight of so many people per square foot. Overwhelm things!

http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=58027


U.S. Rep. Sensenbrenner: Statement on Milwaukee Rally
3/23/2006

CONTACT: Raj Bharwani
(202) 225-5101

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the rally in Milwaukee today, Menomonee Falls Representative Jim Sensenbrenner issued the following statement:

"The illegal alien rally held in Milwaukee today was an impressive show of force. But I do not believe that illegal aliens should receive legal government documents, such as driver's licenses. Many have tried to confuse the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Illegal aliens should not be granted amnesty and a path to citizenship. This would be a slap in the face to all those who have followed the law and have come to America legally.

"The first step in any immigration bill must be regaining control of our borders. Without strong border security provisions, we would have an ineffective and incomplete law that would be doomed to failure from the start.

"Illegal immigration is an expensive problem for law-abiding citizens. Americans and legal aliens have to pay more for police protection, for classrooms to educate our children, and for hospital and healthcare costs. This burden on the taxpayer is wrong. It undermines the economy, and it puts undue pressure on people to pay even more in taxes to pay for those who are here in America.

"Our immigration policy has been and will continue to be debated in Congress. Last year, the House of Representatives took the first step in passing the Border Security, Anti Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act (HR 4437). The Senate in a few weeks will be debating an immigration package.

"America is a compassionate nation that should continue to be the land of opportunity. But the best way to help illegal aliens is by stopping illegal immigration."