least 20,000 rally in Orlando

Supporters of immigrant rights fill streets

Jim Stratton and ViCtor Manuel Ramos | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted May 2, 2006
















A wave of immigrants and their supporters flooded the streets of downtown Orlando on Monday as the city became Florida's focal point for the national effort to reform immigration laws and highlight the contributions of foreign workers.

Organizers estimated as many as 30,000 people showed up for the rally, while police put the number at about 20,000. Whatever the number, the march appears to be the largest political demonstration in Orlando history.

"We surpassed our own expectations," said Tirso Moreno, general coordinator for the Apopka-based Farmworker Association of Florida. "This was a powerful exercise of our political responsibility in favor of a more just and humane United States."

Starting at the TD Waterhouse Centre and heading east toward Lake Eola, the crowd shook downtown buildings with shouts of "Si, se puede" -- "Yes, we can" -- and "USA! USA!"

Pushing strollers and carrying children on their shoulders, marchers encircled Lake Eola Park, taking almost an hour to complete the loop.

When the crowd arrived back at the Waterhouse Centre, they formed a sea of white shirts and tan faces, waving American, Latin American and Haitian flags.

One man hoisted a sign reading, "Got strawberries? Thank an immigrant."

Another read, "No human being is illegal."

Behind them rose the steel skeletons of unfinished skyscrapers -- the sort of construction projects that often rely on the labor of illegal immigrants.

An Argentine immigrant and her five children came from Poinciana to join the mass of protesters moving through the streets. Carolina, 32, is a housekeeper, and her Mexican husband installs windows. Both are here illegally, but their children are U.S. citizens.

"This is one of the most important moments of my life, to be part of this and fight for our rights and for our children's future," she said. "I didn't take my children to school, because I want them to live through this and know that being Hispanic or an immigrant is nothing to be ashamed of."

The Orlando march was part the so-called "A Day Without an Immigrant," a national effort to generate support for legislation that would allow most illegal immigrants to stay in the country and apply for legal residence.

Elsewhere in the state, about 20,000 people rallied in South Florida and thousands of others in DeLand, Sarasota and Pensacola. Three weeks ago, about 80,000 demonstrators showed up in Fort Myers, the largest Florida rally to date.

Lawmakers' proposals

The demonstrations come as Congress is poised to evaluate several proposals.

They range from a House resolution that would turn illegal immigrants into felons to Senate bills that would create a path to earned legalization for some of the 11 million to 12.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

There are an estimated 850,000 illegal immigrants in Florida.

Though supported by many immigrant-worker groups, the demonstrations have drawn criticism from some lawmakers, including Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who supports a plan that would help millions of immigrants attain legal status. Martinez called the rallies "counterproductive" to the reform effort.

"This is an issue that isn't going to get fixed on the streets," he said. "It's going to take thoughtful action by Congress."

Marchers, however, have taken exception to restrictive immigration proposals because, they say, proponents of those measures imply immigrants are criminals or potential terrorists.

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