ITS STARTING !



Protesters Call on Obama to Halt Immigration Raids

By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 21, 2009; 6:29 PM

Several hundred immigrant supporters and religious leaders from across the country marched to the Southwest Washington headquarters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency today, strumming guitars, beating snare drums and waving colorful, homemade banners exhorting President Obama to halt immigration raids and promote legislation offering illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

While the demonstration featured many speeches in Spanish and cries of "SÃ* se puede!" -- "Yes we can!" -- the crowd was also notable for its diversity. Suely Neves, 26, of the Boston group Deported Diaspora, had come on behalf of her fellow Cape Verde immigrants. Standing next to her, Indian-American immigrant Dimple Rana, 28, said she was concerned with the fate of the Cambodian refugees she works with in Lowell, Mass.


"I've seen a lot of good friends deported because of minor prior convictions," said Rana, as groups waving banners from Florida and New Orleans chanted behind her.

Many of the demonstrators had come to town to celebrate Obama's inauguration yesterday. And rather than a protest, the mostly religious representatives who addressed the crowd portrayed the event as a chance to spiritually "cleanse" the agency of the stepped up enforcement approach it adopted under former president George W. Bush. The group also hoped to empower Obama to make good on his campaign promise to push through a legalization plan similar to one the Bush administration twice tried unsuccessfully to get through Congress.

Margarito Esquino, an activist for indigenous rights in El Salvador, lit incense and waved condor feathers toward the sky, shouting in Spanish, "Oh Great Spirit, we ask you to get rid of all the badness in this building and bring in the good!" Rabbi David Schneyer, of the An Kolel Sanctuary and Renewal Center in Rockville, blew on a shofar, a ram's horn historically sounded at important Jewish community events. The Rev. Frederick Hancock of the Gethsemane United Methodist Church of Capital Heights performed a libation ceremony meant to evoke African ancestral rituals, pouring grape juice -- symbolizing wine -- onto the roots of a potted plant as he called out for strength from civil rights icons ranging from Rosa Parks to Cesar Chavez.

Yet the event, which culminated with a community "speak out" at Westminister Presbyterian Church, also reflected the delicate balance that immigrant activists are trying to strike between supporting Obama and keeping the heat on. Many participants interviewed said they believed Obama's first priority must be to right the economy, even if that means delaying an overhaul of immigration law for months and even years.

But they are also eager for the administration to declare an immediate moratorium on deportations and immigration raids.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center of Northern Virginia noted that just hours after Obama's inauguration, his administration had directed military prosecutors to request suspension of the trial of five detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

"So we know he has the power right now to end the unlawful deportation of our people with these immigration raids," he said.

Antonio Bernabe, an organizer with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and one of several immigrant activists who met with members of Obama's transition team during the past several weeks, said he was very optimistic based on their response. Still he said, demonstrations remain necessary because "we cannot wait. The anti-immigrant groups are already moving and we have to assure Obama that . . . [the raids] are not acceptable."

WASHINGTONPOST.COM