Thread: Immigration rallies planned nationwide

WooHoo, more, more!


Immigration rallies planned nationwide By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 22 minutes ago



Hispanic and other civil rights groups wrapped up plans for immigration reform marches and rallies Tuesday in dozens of cities, but conceded that a replay of last year's huge turnout was unlikely.

Still, organizers said the demonstrations reflect a robust movement determined to win a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.

"There was a sort of energy last year," said Gordon Mayer, a vice president of the Community Media Workshop, which helped groups organize the Chicago march. "This year that boulder has split up into a lot of smaller rocks."

Marches, meetings and voter registration drives were planned from Oregon to Florida.

In Miami, Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean planned to speak to immigrant groups. In Washington, D.C., about 400 members of Asian groups from across the country were set to lobby lawmakers. Two large demonstrations were planned in Los Angeles County — home to an estimated 1 million illegal immigrants.

Last year's May 1 boycott brought out more than a million protesters across the nation. But later rallies failed to produce large turnouts, as legislation stalled in Congress and bipartisan proposals for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship have become more conservative.

The developments have disheartened many would-be marchers, but organizers said the frustration with Congress also brought out new supporters.

"It used to be that Hispanic immigrants, those who came legally, were more conservative on the issue," said Joe Garcia, a Cuban-American who heads the Democratic Party's Miami-Dade County chapter.

"But now it's become so wrapped up with issues of racism and identity, even Puerto Ricans and Cubans care about immigration," he said.

Yet stepped-up raids in recent months have left many immigrants afraid to speak out in public — a major change over rallies in 2006 when some illegal immigrants wore T-shirts saying "I'm illegal. So what?"

"The raids are intended to terrorize people and make President Bush look tough," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "But they are not a solution."

Some Los Angeles area groups called for an economic boycott and hoped for a repeat of last year, when thousands of immigrants and students stayed away from work and school in a sign of solidarity.

Others have rejected the boycott, arguing that it puts immigrants' livelihoods at risk and deprives children of valuable classroom time. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, urged students to stay in school.

"This is a very decentralized and organic movement, so in all different cities people will be doing what they feel is important in their area," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, a major organizer of rallies.

Among the events planned:

• In New York, groups are planning an "American Family Tree" rally, where immigrants will pin paper leaves on a large painting of a tree to symbolize the separation of families because of strict immigration laws.

• In Chicago, demonstrators will march more than three miles through downtown, ending at a lakefront park.

• In Fresno, Calif., organizers planned a rally focusing on children whose parents had been deported. The San Joaquin Valley is home to thousands of seasonal workers who cross the Mexican border illegally each year to work in the fields and construction industry.

• In Milwaukee, Ricardo Chavez, the brother of famed agricultural labor leader Cesar Chavez, was expected to speak, as protesters demanded a stop to immigration raids. A raid last year in Whitewater, Wis., saw the arrests of 25 workers and the owner of a packaging plant. Mothers were separated from their children.

• In Florida, voter registration drives and vigils were planned in Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach, along with after-hours rallies in agricultural towns in the Everglades.

• In Los Angeles, marches will include demands for a legalization program, a stop to the raids and an anti-Iraq war message. City and transportation officials were planning for as many as 500,000 people in downtown, believing it could be the largest in the city so far this year.

___

Associated Press writers Garance Burke in Fresno, Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070430/ap_ ... po1_vMWM0F

Hi Soverign,

Originally Posted by Associated Press Writer

WooHoo, more, more!

Immigration rallies...

Wrong on 2 counts, Associated Press Writer.

The correct title is
Mob demonstrations
and
Mass voter registrations (registering illegals)


Hillary knows that illegal voters are her key to back to the White House.

Today my children got a letter saying not to take part from the school district. Then at 4 we got a pre-recorded message from the superintendent reading the letter. But check this out -at 7:44 pm we got the message in Spanish on our answering machine. I wonder if every single household got this kind of blitz in town?

From immigrationwatchdog.com

Someone explain to me, after watching this short 5 min video, taken and produced by the Mexica Movement, why the Mexica Movement (Which is even more extreme then LA Raza or MEChA, the Tan Clan we call them) is leading this pro illegal immigration march in Los Angeles on April 7, 2007. What leaders of the immigration movement or the powers that be, are allowing their march and their movement to be hijacked by an extremist Brown Segregationist group? What is going on here? GuardDog

“Mexica Movement raw footage of march. Our march theme was “Racist US Immigration Laws”, from The Indian Removal Act of 1830 to the Bracero Program to HR4437.”

All those American flags being held by those America hating Mexica Movement members. It’s so obvious it’s all for the cameras. It’s all fake. They must cringe having to wave the American flag. Holding a sign in one hand that says “Stolen Continent” and “All Europeons Are Illegal” and in the other waving an American flag is so hypocritical and so wrong. GuardDog

Then….

Consider the pictures of that very march put out by the MSM. It shows a distorted version of reality. Then ask yourself this. Why???

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=3642


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFPILcjP ... 3Fp%3D3642

The officials in LA are preparing for over 100000, but many INTELLIGENT people are guessing there will be less than 30000. The activists are already claiming that the recent raids on immigration have scared the immigrants and that there will not be as big a turnout. SO for those of us in LA, don't expect a clear day on the freeways, as good as it was last year it own't be as good tomorrow.

I don't expect more than 30000, I do expect the local news networks to overblow the coverage with all of the socialist reconquista reporters, IE Tony Valdez of Fox 11,

geekindapink - Hello, welcome aboard!

Yes, it'll be interesting to see how things 'shake out' tomorrow.

Stick around, jump right in and feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Welcome geekindapink!

Yes, the buzz seems to be this year won't be anything near what last year was. Many leaders are silent, particularly radio stations in LA who last yr got people fired up. So the roads won't be open like last year I guess.

Welcome,

Please help us to monitor the situation. The marches will be smaller because the resulting backlash from the May 2006 marches have the illegals feeling the heat!

W

People are really getting fed up with the illegals' arrogance and sense of entitlement. I hope ICE is waiting to haul them off. Enough is enough.

In Miami, Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean planned to speak to immigrant groups. In Washington, D.C., about 400 members of Asian groups from across the country were set to lobby lawmakers. Two large demonstrations were planned in Los Angeles County — home to an estimated 1 million illegal immigrants.

That's it Howard, sell your soul and destroy America for a few votes. BTW, that 1 million figure for Los Angeles isn't even close. It's more likely 4 to 6 million. Nationwide the figure is most likely around 35-45 million, no where near the 12 million figure all the politicians throw out.