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May Day rally in Salem supports college tuition, driver's license for undocumented immigrants

Published: Sunday, May 01, 2011, 8:48 PM Updated: Sunday, May 01, 2011, 10:13 PM

By Dominique Fong, The Oregonian

SALEM – About 4,000 people gathered at the Oregon Capitol Sunday to support pending state legislation about college tuition and driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

Rally organizers saw May 1, a day traditionally used by activist groups around the world to organize political demonstrations and support workers' rights, as a way to highlight two proposed laws.

Senate Bill 742 would allow undocumented students to be exempt from out-of-state tuition. Another, Senate Bill 845, would allow undocumented people to gain a driver's license without proving they are legal residents.

These issues will have a radical impact on Oregon's growing Latino community, said Francisco Lopez, executive director of CAUSA, a group that advocates for immigrant rights.

"We have grown, and we are very much part of Oregon's economy and Oregon's society and Oregon's culture," Lopez said, "so we are very much part of everything in the state."

Since 2000, Latino population in Oregon has grown 63 percent to about 450,000 people, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

This is the sixth year that CAUSA has rallied on May Day. Sunday's event featured guest speakers who led the crowd in a chorus of the folk song "De Colores," urged lawmakers to pass the two bills and prayed for peace and justice.

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, who spoke at the rally, encouraged people to continue their political participation by voting.

"I am truly inspired by your passion and determination to make a difference, but our efforts cannot stop here," she said. "Never lose passion for change. Your voices must be heard."

Other advocacy groups, such as those supporting Latinas, labor workers and gay rights, also joined the event in an effort to show solidarity.

At about noon, the crowd marched from the Capitol down Court Street Northeast, waving signs and chanting "Si, se puede," Spanish for "Yes, we can," while dancers in Aztec costumes stepped to a drumbeat.

Most supported the two bills, and talked about how crucial driver's license are to everyday lives.

Albertina Vallejo, of Woodburn, said people need licenses to go to work and drive their kids to school.

"They can't get a car and can't get insurance," she said.

A group of students from Western Oregon University, members of a politically active Chicano club, held signs supporting higher education for undocumented students.

Carol Santos, a sophomore at Western Oregon, said she has a friend who earned a 4.0 GPA in high school but didn't have the right papers to go to college. Every student should be allowed to go to college and pursue a career, she said.

Next to Santos, sophomore Shannon Grosse agreed.

"It's about their dreams as well," Grosse said.

In Portland, the May Day rally was smaller. Speeches in both Spanish and English boomed over the loudspeakers as more than 200 people filled the Downtown park blocks near Southwest Park and Southwest Salmon for a May Day rally and march Sunday afternoon.

Among those attending was Paul Wolfe, 28, of Portland, who teaches art to students with disabilities, came for to show his solidarity with the struggles of working class people everywhere. "People are coming out today and standing up for what they believe in," Wolfe said.

He added that though the United States may have flaws, the demonstration was a perfect example of the freedoms we have.

"It's nice that we have the privilege to gather here and demonstrate without worrying about getting shot at," he said.

Guillermo Magallon is the operations manager for the Western Farm Workers Association based in Hillsboro. He and other volunteers were at the protest looking for volunteers.

The WFWA works with laborers and immigrants to ensure that they have enough food and basic supplies to support their families. Magallon said that with the crash of the housing market, many of the individuals he helps have lots jobs the organization struggles to make up the difference.

"We stand in solidarity with all working people because working people hold our community up," he said. "We need more living wage jobs and we to act during this time when those jobs are under attack."

www.oregonlive.com