Thread: Immig. march in Stockton part of nationwide push for vote

Immigration march in Stockton part of nationwide push for vote

By Jennie Rodriguez
Record Staff Writer
May 02, 2008 6:00 AM


STOCKTON - Local immigration activists and supporters joined the national immigration protest Thursday afternoon as a crowd swept through downtown, waving Mexican and American flags and chanting "Si, se puede" (Yes, we can).

The protests' focus across the nation was on voter registration as November elections approach. Stockton's marchers also attempted to revive calls for immigrant workers rights, legalization for immigrants and the stop to deportations.

"This year, we're preparing people to vote," said Luis Magaña, the immigrant rights activist who organized the event. "We want people to vote, because anti-immigration efforts are not only in Washington, but also at the local level in many places. We want to know what local officials will do; meanwhile, reform isn't being passed."

For 19-year-old University of the Pacific student Veronica Chavez, this was a chance to show support to people like her father and grandparents, who migrated from Mexico.

"Many (Mexican) immigrants work in agriculture. Without their work, our country doesn't eat," said Chavez, president of Pacific's Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan club.

Marchers included students from area high schools, Pacific's Multicultural Affairs program and members of the NAACP, Nation of Islam and the Bracero Association of Northern California.

"We're here in support of a civil rights issue," said student minister Tommie Muhammad of the Nation of Islam.

Backing the cause was a personal issue for Lucio Reyes, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 601, which represents many Latino cannery workers. Reyes, who migrated from Mexico in 1956 at 14 years old, became a U.S. citizen in the late 1970s.

"This country was built by immigrants," Reyes said. "Why pick on Hispanics only?"

The route from the Mexican Community Center, where the event began at 4 p.m., to Weber Point was closed to through traffic. The group rallied at Weber Point.

Magaña estimated about 1,000 people attended the rally. Police said the number was closer to 150.

The rally drew a considerably smaller crowd than in previous years. The first national May Day protest in 2006, which carried the slogan "A Day Without Immigrants," called for immigration reform. It attempted to show the economic impact of immigrants, as students walked out of high schools, businesses closed and workers were absent from their jobs. That year, about 10,000 protesters marched to Weber Point.

The demonstration momentum had settled down in 2007, when an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people marched to De Carli Square.

The 2007 march was in opposition of the STRIVE Act, a proposed immigration reform bill that was rejected by Congress. The throng of marchers, who were supposed to stay on the sidewalks, trickled into the streets.

This year, the city required Magaña to pay permit fees of $2,053 to police for their presence and street closures in order for demonstrators to march on city streets.

"We have to close vehicle traffic for the safety of citizens using those streets," said Officer Pete Smith, a Stockton police spokesman. "There's increased traffic during that time.

"This is not unique. Any event has to go through the event process," Smith said. He added there were no reported incidents during the rally.

Contact reporter Jennie Rodriguez at (209) 943-8564 or jrodriguez@recordnet.com.

http://recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... /805020318

Backing the cause was a personal issue for Lucio Reyes, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 601, which represents many Latino cannery workers. Reyes, who migrated from Mexico in 1956 at 14 years old, became a U.S. citizen in the late 1970s.

"This country was built by immigrants," Reyes said. "Why pick on Hispanics only?"

Now, now Lucio, you KNOW it's about ILLEGAL aliens, not hispanics. Stop spinning, it's gotten really old.

Going for the vote? You have to be a citizen to vote. Let's have ICE at the precincts in those areas to check for legal residency.