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Immigrants protest for 'better life'

By Chris Kenning
ckenning@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Hundreds of immigrants marched in Louisville yesterday, joining a wave of national demonstrations and boycotts meant to highlight their economic clout as Congress debates stricter immigration laws.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of mostly Hispanic immigrants skipped work and took to the streets in a nationwide boycott that, while far from unified, slowed or shut down farms, factories, markets and restaurants.

From Los Angeles to Chicago, from New Orleans to Houston, the "Day Without Immigrants" attracted widespread participation despite divisions among activists over whether a boycott would send the right message to lawmakers considering sweeping reform.

In Kentucky and Southern Indiana, workers took the day off from warehouses, restaurants and roofing jobs to wave U.S. and Mexican flags, to carry signs that read, "I am not a criminal," and to chant, "Today we march, tomorrow we vote."

"We work, we pay taxes … we're just trying to get a better life," said Mario Ramales, 31, a father of three living in Shelbyville, Ky. He said he remains undocumented despite having lived in America for 14 years.

Organizers want Congress to reject a proposal that would make all illegal immigrants felons and fortify the U.S.-Mexico border. They also want Congress to make it easier for undocumented children to attend college and become legal residents.

"This movement is like a sleeping giant that has awakened," said Ron Russell, a Louisville immigration attorney. "Some people have called this the next civil-rights movement."

In both Chicago and Los Angeles, an estimated 400,000 people gathered, as did tens of thousands in New York, 15,000 in Houston and 30,000 across Florida.

Smaller rallies in cities from Pennsylvania and Connecticut to Arizona and South Dakota attracted hundreds. A downtown Louisville rally drew about 1,000 people, according to organizers.

In Shelbyville, a downtown parking lot that usually is bustling each morning with Hispanic immigrants looking for day jobs was almost empty.

'We do matter'
Groups organizing the Louisville demonstration said they took no position on whether local immigrants should skip work, but many at the rally said they had taken the day off.

Rene Navarro, 13, said he skipped classes at Noe Middle School so he could hold a sign that read, "We do matter."

Francisco, a 20-year-old roofer who wouldn't give his last name because he is an illegal immigrant, said he was nervous protesting but wanted to speak out. He said his status has made it difficult to get jobs, health care, education and a home.

"They don't treat us as equal Americans," he said. "But there are no illegal humans."

Local organizers hoped to raise awareness about the contributions of immigrant workers, from consumer spending to their importance in industries such as farming, cleaning and food preparation.

"Undocumented workers contribute greatly to the economy, including through taxes they pay," said Stephen Bartlett, a board member of Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce on Latin America and the Caribbean, one of several advocacy groups behind the Louisville demonstration.

Illegal workers have paid at least $463 billion into Social Security, but take out almost nothing, according to a recent analysis by Time Magazine.

Around 11 a.m. yesterday, Louisville marchers began to gather at the federal courthouse on West Broadway. Some were wrapped in U.S. flags, wearing tool belts, carrying babies and holding signs. "Immigration is the fabric of our nation" and "We are all immigrants" were some of the messages.

Supporters included Louisville activists such as the Rev. Louis Coleman and Carla Wallace, who called it "a battle for human rights."

As immigrants marched, some cars blared their horns in support. But one man in a pickup shouted, "Go home! Go home!"

Don Hayes, who was selling hot dogs at a stand downtown as the group passed, said illegal immigrants should be deported.

"If they are legal, that's fine," he said. "But if they're not, they gotta go."

Marchers delivered petitions to offices of the state's congressional delegation at the nearby federal building before walking down the sidewalks while chanting to Jefferson Square.

Some demonstrators argued that U.S. free-trade policies help create immigrants by flooding markets with cheap, subsidized crops such as corn, and as a result forcing small farmers to leave their countries.

"Some of the farm workers are really displaced farmers," said Helen Deines, a professor at Spalding University.

As the boycotts took place, the White House reacted coolly.

"The president is not a fan of boycotts," press secretary Scott McClellan said. "People have the right to peacefully express their views, but the president wants to see comprehensive reform pass the Congress so that he can sign it into law."

Protests in Mexico
In Mexico, thousands took to the streets yesterday to support migrants in the United States and celebrated what they called a "Day Without Gringos" by shunning U.S.-owned supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and American goods.

Measuring the boycott's impact proved difficult, however, because business is normally reduced to a fraction of normal volume on Mexico's May Day holiday.

Some Mexicans vowed not to buy from or patronize any businesses related to the United States, but others said they found it difficult to avoid doing so.

Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at (502) 582-4697.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.