Thread: Latinos on Opposite Sides of the Immigration Debate Square O

Politics
Latinos on Opposite Sides of the Immigration Debate Square Off in Manhattan
By Alexandra Gratereaux

Published May 02, 2011
| Fox News Latino
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Fox News Latino/Alexandra Gratereaux

May 1, 2011: Joanna Marzullo, President of NY ICE rallies in the streets of Union Square, New York City against amnesty for unathorized persons in the United States of America.
With slogans like "Stop the Deportations" competing with "Hispanic Against Illegal Aliens," demonstrators on opposite sides of the immigration issue took to the streets in Union Square on Sunday, which was May Day.

Both sides included Latinos, reflecting the diverse views on illegal immigration in the community.

The two groups at times engaged in yelling at each other, sometimes hurling insults.

The crowd that favored a change in immigration policy that would help undocumented immigrants argued that they work in jobs others will not do. But those protesting against undocumented immigrants described them as lawbreakers who should not even be referred to as "immigrants."

One of the most vociferous protesters on the side against undocumented immigrants was Nicaraguan-American Joanna Marzullo, who runs NY ICE, New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement. (NY ICE, a private group, is not related to ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government agency.)






Through one circumstance or another, these bold-faced names once lived or worked illegally in the USA.




Activists rallied and marched against a plan that could use an Essex County jail to house up to 2,700 undocumented immigrants in federal custody.

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Holding a sign that said "Hispanic Against Illegal Aliens," Marzullo said: "Today we are here to counter protest illegal aliens who once again this year are trying to stampede their way into amnesty."

Marzullo's group advocates for the enforcement of existing immigration laws. They believe the government already has the tools to crack down on those who enter illegally and to do a better job of stopping others from coming in.

“I should point out and always have emphasized that illegal aliens are not immigrants.," Marzullo said. "Immigrants have to go through a process where they get screened for all sorts of things including diseases and criminal histories. Illegal aliens bypass that process when they illegally jump the borders or they illegally over stay their visas.â€

Illegal Immigration is nothing more than THEFT. These good and moral hispanic people fighting against amnesty know and understand this. You CANT reward theft or you only guarantee more...

“She calls herself Hispanic and she doesn’t even speak the language," Toro said, visibly angry. "All these laws in Arizona about racial profiling are targeted toward Latinos. You shouldn’t stand against your own people.â€