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Immigration marchers take to U.S. streets

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Demonstrators demanding a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants took to U.S. streets Tuesday while others lobbied Congress for action.

In southwest Detroit, which has a large Hispanic population, hundreds of people wore red and white, and carried American flags to a rally.

"Most of the undocumented people come here as a necessity of survival," said Rosendo Delgado, of Latinos United, one of the groups organizing the march. "For them, it's the only choice."

Hours before the march was set to begin in Chicago, dozens of demonstrators began arriving carrying flags, signs and placards, including one that read "We may not have it all together, but together we can have it all."

Marches and rallies were planned Tuesday in dozens of cities, but organizers conceded that a replay of last year's huge turnout -- an estimated 1 million nationwide -- was unlikely. (U.S.-born kids want immigrant parents to stay )

Still, organizers said the demonstrations reflect a robust movement for citizenship rights for illegal immigrants.

"There was a sort of energy last year," said Gordon Mayer, a vice president of the Community Media Workshop, which helped groups organize the Chicago march. "This year that boulder has split up into a lot of smaller rocks."

In Miami, Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean planned to speak to immigrant groups. In Washington, D.C., about 400 members of Asian groups from across the country were set to lobby lawmakers. Two large demonstrations were planned in Los Angeles County -- home to an estimated 1 million illegal immigrants.

While last year's May 1 boycott brought out more than a million protesters, later rallies failed to produce large turnouts, as legislation stalled in Congress and bipartisan proposals for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship have become more conservative. (Watch how prospective citizens face a new test )

The developments have disheartened many would-be marchers, but organizers said the frustration with Congress also brought out new supporters.

"It used to be that Hispanic immigrants, those who came legally, were more conservative on the issue," said Joe Garcia, a Cuban-American who heads the Democratic Party's Miami-Dade County chapter.

"But now it's become so wrapped up with issues of racism and identity, even Puerto Ricans and Cubans care about immigration," he said.

Yet stepped-up raids in recent months have left many immigrants afraid to speak out in public -- a major change over rallies in 2006 when some illegal immigrants wore T-shirts saying "I'm illegal. So what?"

"The raids are intended to terrorize people and make President Bush look tough," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "But they are not a solution." (Watch one man's plea for a chance )

Melissa Woo, a 22-year-old American citizen who immigrated from South Korea, carried a Korean flag over her shoulder in Chicago on Tuesday as she criticized politicians for "buckling at the knees."

"Us immigrants aren't pieces of trash, we're human beings," she said. "To be treated as less than human is a travesty."
Thomas Rodriguez, of Aurora, stood in Union Park wearing a shirt that said: "We are hard workers. We're not criminals."

The 38-year-old has had no legal status since he came to the United States from Mexico in 1989 and is an employee at a Japanese restaurant in Chicago.

"Recent raids have worried me," he said. "We worry deportations are leaving too many young people without parents."

Some Los Angeles area groups called for an economic boycott and hoped for a repeat of last year, when thousands of immigrants and students stayed away from work and school in a sign of solidarity.

Others have rejected the boycott, arguing that it puts immigrants' livelihoods at risk and deprives children of valuable classroom time. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, urged students to stay in school.

In Los Angeles, marches were set to include demands for a legalization program, a stop to the raids and an anti-Iraq war message. City and transportation officials were planning for as many as 500,000 people in downtown, believing it could be the largest in the city so far this year.
"This is a very decentralized and organic movement, so in all different cities people will be doing what they feel is important in their area," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, a major organizer of rallies.

In New York, groups planned an "American Family Tree" rally, where immigrants would pin paper leaves on a large painting of a tree to symbolize the separation of families because of strict immigration laws.

The event is a response to a White House immigration reform proposal in March, said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

That plan would grant illegal immigrants three-year work visas for $3,500 but also require them to return home to apply for U.S. residency and pay a $10,000 fine. It has been roundly criticized by immigrant groups.

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posted by mhai @ 10:37 AM