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Immigration reform groups searching for a stronger voice
Activists on both sides of the issue look for ways to educate and draw support

By CHRISTINA E. SANCHEZ


christina.sanchez@heraldtribune.com

It's Tuesday night, which means attorney Jim Delgado and the rest of the dozen businessmen who make up the group El Concilio Mexicano are at their regular table at a Palmetto restaurant.

Spanish banter among members monopolizes the room. There are more questions than answers. How do we designate our group as a nonprofit? What's the best way to get more members? How do we publicly promote our goals? What's the next step? How much do we charge for membership dues?

Delgado, who helped formed the group in February to show support for immigration rights, answers what questions he can and promises to aid in researching the ones he can't.

But Delgado stays on point. His message to his fellow business leaders is always the same.

"The point wasn't just to get people on the streets," Delgado said. "The point was to educate people. We need to move from mobilizing to organizing. It's not just about hitting the streets."

El Concilio Mexicano, or The Mexican Council, is one of a handful of grass-roots groups that sprang up in Southwest Florida this year as part of a national discussion over immigration policies.

The groups work to drive the immigration debate locally and in Congress, and keep the issue fresh and on the table. Though federal legislation has stalled, these groups keep plugging along.

Philip Williams, chair of the political science department at the University of Florida, said grass-roots initiatives can spawn political movements that influence laws and legislators' decisions.

The civil rights movement is a good example, he said.

"You could argue that if it weren't for the mass demonstrations that took place, we would never have the historic civil rights legislation that we have," said Williams, who also studies Latin American issues. "It was about taking politics to the streets. It was a way to get issues front and center, and get the attention of politicians."

Part-time Venice resident Don McKee is taking his politics to the streets in an effort to get his point across.

For the last few months McKee has been riding his motorcycle across the country to advocate for the construction of a border fence to keep illegal immigrants out.

McKee and five other motorcyclists dub their mission the 21st Century Ride of Paul Revere. They are traveling to 48 state capitols to speak in favor of border security and the gradual deportation of illegal immigrants. The group is scheduled to make an appearance in Boston today.

"As the momentum continues, our group gets stronger," McKee said. "By going to state capitols, we can talk to legislators about peaceful and just ways to put immigration levels back to where they used to be, to where the people that came in legally was reasonable and relatively small."

In April, Sarasota resident Julia Aires collaborated with about 15 other area activists to form the Sarasota-Manatee Human Rights Coalition to support nationwide immigrant rights rallies held on May 1.

Aires, co-chair of the coalition, said grass-roots organizations thrive on educating the public.

"The grass-roots groups are raising peoples' consciousness at different levels," Aires said. "It's resulting in people becoming aware of the hardships of immigrants and having to face that they have to make a decision on how they feel about the issue."

Demonstrations and rallies exposed deficiencies in immigration policies, but that's not enough, Delgado said.

It's the daily and weekly behind-the-scenes activities of El Concilio Mexicano and other groups that drive the cause. They're soliciting members for their nonprofit organizations, lobbying local legislators, setting goals, initiating voter registration drives, corresponding via e-mail and passing out information to residents in the community.

And it's those thought-provoking and analytical efforts, Delgaldo said, that makes a grass-roots movement.

"These groups, they're showing passion," Delgado said. "It doesn't matter which side of the issue you lean on. The idea is still the same whether you're an extremist or a centrist: to see results."




Last modified: August 06. 2006 5:40AM