Immigrants Plan Nationwide Day of Protest

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060501/ap_on_re_us/immigration_boycott_day;_ylt=Aq1cJ61BpCb5CYiGif0kmYWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
Immigrants Plan Nationwide Day of Protest

By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago

DENVER - Thousands of illegal immigrants and their allies across the country plan a show of force Monday to illustrate how much immigrants matter in the U.S. economy.


Some will skip work, others will protest at lunch breaks, school walkouts or at rallies after work. There are planned church services, candlelight vigils, picnics and human chains.

The doors of Hector Castillo's bakery are usually open 360 days a year, but anybody looking for his Mexican pastries or cookies will be out of luck Monday.

Castillo planned to close his doors in sympathy with an economic boycott by immigrants and their supporters. For Castillo, 45, it's a protest against legislation in the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.

[rodeodance]

1. "Arab, Asian, black, eastern European and Hispanic communities,"--

will join in.


...A rally in Chicago representing the city's Arab, Asian, black, eastern European and Hispanic communities, along with labor groups and religious leaders, could bring out as many as half a million people, organizers say. They urged immigrant workers to ask for time off and encouraged students to get permission to attend the demonstration.

"Stand in solidarity with people of all races and nationalities because immigration legislation does not just affect one group; it affects everyone!" Sadiya Ahmed, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote in a recent e-mail.

In smaller cities such as Allentown, Pa.; Omaha, Neb.; and Knoxville, Tenn., immigrants and their allies have been going door to door with fliers, making posters and sharpening speeches. In New Mexico, restaurants cooked meals this weekend to donate to picnics Monday in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

In Pomona, Calif., about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, dozens of men who frequent a day labor center voted unanimously to close Monday, said Mike Nava, the center's director.

[fasttense]

2. If illegals are brave enough to protest being deported

Why aren't they brave enough to protest their unsafe working conditions and their slave wages?

[Triana]

3. If illegals are brave enough to protest being deported...

...back to Mexico, WHY aren't they brave enough to protest their unsafe working conditions, slave wages, and lack of jobs IN MEXICO?

They ought to be ALL OVER Vincente Fox. Why aren't they? Why come HERE to get jobs and protest. Hell, they could using all that energy to improve things in their own country. I'm just saying. WHERE is Mr. Fox's responsibility in all this?

[marmar]

4. "Why come HERE to protest"

Umm, they're living here and working here - I don't think they came here just to protest. And many of the protestors are LEGAL immigrants.

[rodeodance]

6. that point gets lost many times (many are legal)

[Sterling]

10. which is completely stupid

Legal immigrants should want legal immigration as much as the rest of us, no? As far as I knew this topic was about illegal immigrants, not legal?

At any rate this"protest' will not help them. It will only solidify many peoples feelings that illegals do not care about the US and don't respect the law.

[Triana]

12. Exactly. (n/t)

[Triana]

7. Once again, I'm *not* against LEGAL immigrants...

..I AM against ILLEGAL ones who come here to work - and protest - and who think they ought to be able to go to another country and start right out breaking that country's laws - and then be granted amnesty for it. If those illegals can come here and work and protest their right to sneak in here illegally and work - why can they not expend that energy and effor protesting in the streets of MEXICO against Vincente Fox? Doesn't make sense to me.

And I don't discount the role the COMPANIES WHO KNOWINGLY HIRE illegals (to get cheap labor) play in this either. Or the role of Vincente Fox, or the role of GWB in all of it. I largely don't blame the illegals - after all they've been given the green light to just come to the US in droves (ILLEGALLY) and be rewarded for it with jobs and amnesty -- so much so that they think the DESERVE those jobs and that amnesty even though they are breaking the law and putting strains on our economy and wages. That sense of entitlement that just floors me.

Even so, that's not necessarily all their fault, but they could spend all that energy and effort trying to improve their own country and protesting Mr. Fox. Why come here and do it -- illegally. Is it harder to protest for decent wages in Mexico than to protest for being allowed to come here illegally and get away with it to make more $. It seems like six on one and half dozen the other.

I'm sure they have problems getting jobs or supporting their families in Mexico. I understand that. Many people in the US (legal aliens or citizens) have the same problem here and we aren't sneaking into other countries illegally to get jobs that pay better, and demanding amnesty for doing it from those other countries. We don't have such a sense of entitlement. Most people here who have trouble getting decent paying jobs stay here, tough it out, maybe help to work to change things. Many DUers are among them.

[hogwyld]

17. Who are you kidding???

With your quote "We don't have such a sense of entitlement. Most people here who have trouble getting decent paying jobs stay here, tough it out, maybe help to work to change things. Many DUers are among them." All of you rich white xenophobes don't want to work at anything remotely close to hard labor. That's why we come here to earn money for our families down south. We are only protesting to demand the same rights as anyone else living here. We will no longer be silent, and you will hear our roar. All of you bashers of us will fear us as you have awakend the sleeping elephant.
This land was ours long before the grings came, and it will, in time, be ours again.

[fasttense]

21. If you go back far enough, everyone has to get off the land they are on.

You have to start somewhere. Even the American Indians were not the original inhabitants to North America, they migrated into the land. So... how far back do you plan to go when you redistribute the land??????

[hogwyld]

31. Just far enough to equalize things

The gringos came and took over everything through force of arms. All we want are our rights, our benefits, and our share of the good things in life. and if it takes a couple mas generations of baby making to achieve, so be it. We are patient.

[amandabeech]

53. Please reconsider your plan to have larger families.

Many environmental scientists today are extremely concerned that we have or are about to expand our WORLD population to the extent that we completely destroy our ecosystem. Many believe that overpopulation would be a serious problem even without global warming and climate change.

I appreciate the desire that you and others in your group to be treated fairly and to achieve better lives for yourselves and your children. However, I believe that by having more children, you may make the earth less livable for them and for their children and grandchildren.

[Sterling]

38. It is obvious that many people do not want to acknowledge the difference

btw legal and illegal immigrants. It's just easier to call people racist and not have to actually have an argument. I think some people really want this to be a race issue when it is obviously not.

[Critters2]

48. You missed the point

why aren't they working to improve conditions in Mexico? If they love Mexico, and all those flags more than imply they do, why not stay or return there to improve things?

[Bridget Burke]

9. Mexico's problems predate Fox by a century or two....

And there are plenty of Mexicans left at home to protest. Probably the ones who are NOT so poor that they must leave the country. The ones with a bit more education & slightly better jobs.

[Triana]

13. We (and Fox) should concentrate on fixing Mexico's problems then...

...in addition to cracking down on illegal immigrants and companies who hire them. Doing nothing about your nation's problems (Mexico) and sending its citizens to illegally enter another country in droves to get decent paying work is hardly a solution - it just transfers the problem elsewhere. And it's downright lazy. And GWB has been an enabler in all of it, too.

[Bridget Burke]

16. Gosh, those lazy Mexicans....

Fox did, in fact, make some proposals about immigration at his first meeting with Bush. One was for a sort of guest worker program. Another was about incentives in Mexico to convince workers here to return home. Bush snubbed any ideas.

This won't be Fox's problem much longer. A new Mexican President will be elected this summer. The front-runner has already been slammed as a friend of Venezuela's Chavez. If he's elected, look forward to our "Chavez & Castro are Commie thugs" gang to add him to their list.

[noamnety]

14. Maybe next time

they'll ask your opinion on what YOU think they should be allowed to protest. :)

[fasttense]

19. Good point Triana. n/t

[mshasta]

23. why did the americans went to

attack another country illegally and kill many innocent life’s, why did the Americans feel the right to be in any other country illegally and is ok...but the Mexicans coming to work OHMG the sky is falling.!!! ….

[Critters2]

49. Nice attempt at changing the subject

[Acadia Blue]

30. Why can't they revolt against Mexico's oligarchy that is the real

cause of their misery. Mexico is a feudalistic state with 36 families owning almost all the assets of the country. Its what Bush wants for America. Mexico needs a real revolution. Of course Fox wants his poor unhappy people to come here, so his rich pig friends can stay in power.

Why not fix their own country!!!!!!!!!!!We revolted against the British. The Mexicans need to revolt against the ruling Elitist fascists in their own country and take it for themselves.

[amandabeech]

54. Perhaps the Mexican people will elect Sr. Obrador,

the leftist/populist mayor of Mexico City, as their next president. From what I've read, he is more like Chavez, Morales and Lula than he is like Fox or, heaven forbid, Jorge Arbusto.

For what it's worth, we here in the U.S. must fight the increasing concentration of wealth and income here so that we do not end up like Mexico.

[rodeodance]

5. U.S. Prepares for 'Day Without Immigrants' (new headline)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060501/ap_on_re_us/immigration_boycott_day;_ylt=Apj2EqAIPGqkRJxPzbqVHROs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

U.S. Prepares for 'Day Without Immigrants'

By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer 34 minutes ago

DENVER - Thousands of illegal immigrants and their allies across the country plan a show of force Monday to illustrate how much immigrants matter in the U.S. economy.

Some will skip work, others will protest at lunch breaks, school walkouts or at rallies after work. There are planned church services, candlelight vigils, picnics and human chains.

Hector Castillo, a Denver baker usually keeps his doors open 360 days a year. But anybody looking for his Mexican pastries or cookies will be out of luck Monday when Castillo plans to close his doors in sympathy with immigrants. For Castillo, 45, it's a protest against legislation in the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.

"About 80 percent of our customers are Latin people, most of them Mexican, and the proposed law will affect all of us," he said.

[bmbmd]

8. If you can't join in

wear a white shirt in solidarity.

[Sterling]

11. That is funny

Convenient show of "solidarity" why not just say anyone wearing shoes is showing support for the lay about day?

[Lost4words]

15. the Lay About Day?

"Convenient show of "solidarity" why not just say anyone wearing shoes is showing support for the lay about day?"

What exactly do you mean by your statement?

why do I suspect you are a 20 something white male?

[IA_Seth]

22. Hey now...

I am a 20-something white male and am offended to be grouped with the poster above. While a lot of my peers are ignorant and unable to grasp the importance of immigrants and their contributions to our nation (since inception!), some of us believe that no matter where you are from, or what government claims you as their own, you should be welcomed to the US and provided justice and equality.

"Give us your huddles masses, yearning to be free" What happened to that?

[Sterling]

37. "Give us your huddles masses, yearning to be free"

You still have to get in line behind the others waiting to get in. Illegals are assholes who like to cut in line. Legals like the way my family and 90% of everybody else did are what make this country great, so shove the racist shit.

[IA_Seth]

39. Freudian what?

Who said anything about racism dude?

Illegals are desperate people who see a land of opportunity across an imaginary line and have the *gasp* audacity to try to breach said imaginary line.

Compassion like that must make it hard for you come Christmas time, no?

[Sterling]

40. why do I suspect you are a 20 something white male

I was responding to both you and the poster you were responding to. Sorry for the confusing post. The acusation of racism was not yours.

[Critters2]

50. Tell that to meatpackers who've lost their jobs to illegal immigrants

Step out of Des Moines, Seth, and meet Iowa.

[noamnety]

18. or put a sign in your car

I was thinking of putting a solidarity-themed sign in my rear window.

[Bertrand Newton]

20. Right trying to spin the protest away

Already there are signs about how the conservatives are dealing with this protest. They think they can make the next civil rights movement disappear by spinning it out of existence. Check out this at Edward McGuire's blog:

Has anyone noticed today’s immigrant boycott? I haven’t. Looks like we could live a day - or forever - without illegal immigrants. Oh well, I suppose the boycott backfired a bit, huh? Perhaps it would have been better for them not to advertise the fact that America can - and will - do much better if the 13 million illegals are deported, rather than messing around with half-measures of amnesty and “illegal worker programs”.

It'll be interesting to see how the mainstream media reports the protests. Most of the shops around my place are closed today -- but I live in a heavily immigrant area. What's happening in other places around the country?

[reprobate]

24. illegal - and that's the crux of the matter non-English speakers must know

From Dictionary.com

illegal 1) adj. in violation of statute, regulation or ordinance, which may be criminal or merely not in conformity. Thus, an armed robbery is illegal, and so is an access road which is narrower than the county allows, but the violation is not criminal. 2) a person residing in a country of which he/she is not a citizen and who has no official permission to be there. (See: alien, illegal immigrant)

I think none of us have anything against immigration. My own family came from Romania and Russia. My wifes ancestors are from England and Germany. Unless you are native American your ancestors were immigrants. That's not the subject of the argument. The subject is "illegal" immigration.

All of our ancestors came here from somewhere else. But they came here LEGALLY. That means they followed the law and applied to our government for permission and waited to be allowed to enter. Then they made it their business to BECOME Americans by learning english so they could blend in and actually participate. My mother came here as a child from Russia. I can remember her telling us stories of the Cossacks riding thru their village and killing people. By the time I was born when she was twenty English had become her native language. Not her only language - Yiddish was still used when the grownups wanted to talk and they didn't want the children to understand.

The point is that by the time that we could talk, us kids WERE native english speakers. We would grow up to BE americans. You couldn't tell without looking at our lineage where our parents came from. It DIDN'T MATTER! We could blend in so there was no difference. THAT'S WHY OUR PARENTS CAME HERE!

AFAIC anyone is welcome to come to America. As long as they do it the way everyone else has cone it - LEGALLY, and with the same goals as my parents, to Be Americans

To me there is no such thing as a hyphenated American, like Russian-American or African-American or Spanish-American. There is only American. Sure, we all have the cultures that our parents brought here, and they are like the frosting on a cake, making the taste just that much more interesting. But we must not let those cultures become our identifications. That way lies the Balkanization of this nation, the Tower of Babel.

America must be one nation of Americans with the same interests: to see that our country is the best place to live in this world for ALL of us. Anything else is Republicanism.

[Bridget Burke]

25. Many children of immigrants gladly consider themselves Irish-American, etc

Yes, we are primarily Americans. But we are also proud of our families' roots. We have no desire to blend in seemlessly & be just like all other good American WASPs. Of course, my ancestors had a head start--thanks to centuries of exposure to English culture, they already spoke the language.

Look into the history of the Balkans. Different languages did not cause their problems.

Yes, we've heard ILLEGAL defined again & again. When my people (& yours) came here, the road to legal residency & citizenship was much simpler.

[Igel]

26. It's precisely the distinction that many people want to obscure.

If the difference between illegal and legal immigration is gone, then nobody's done anything wrong?

Of course, the same can be said about anything that's legal/illegal. The complaint--false, in great measure--used to be that people saw all immigrants as illegal; I infer this is precisely what the protesters want. In other words, they've created polarization not between illegal and legal immigration, but between illegal + legal immigrants and law-abiding citizens. To the extent legal immigrants want us to believe they're illegal, they're idiots. But they have a right to idiocy. They have no right to my respect.

[demo dutch]

27. Being a recent citizen, I'm not sure on this issue

[Sterling]

41. You went through the process obviously?

Welcome to America fellow citizen, great to have you. It is wonderful you respect your new home enough to get off to a correct start by waiting your turn like others have had to in the past. It probably was not easy, but you wanted to be here enough to go through it.

May you have a great life in this great country.

[demo dutch]

47. I have lived here for 25 years, with a green card. The road to

citizenship (the process that is) is so unbelievably awful, that I held off (for too long obviously.) I don't necessarily agree with people coming illegally, especially since millions try to do the right thing and go through the process legally. At the same time the INS is such a disaster (and that is an understatement) you can't blame people for trying to go the illegal route. That's why I'm not sure on this issue.

Now when it comes to language and integration that's a whole other issue. The (new) model used in the Netherlands for immigration has some good points.

[corporate_mike]

28. More than 300,000 rally for illegal immigrant rights in Chicago

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/01imm.html

[Megahurtz]

29. Stupid.

What a stupid way to go about getting what they want.
It's bound to backfire.

That's just my opinion.

[Acadia Blue]

32. Their real problem is the fascistic Mexican power elite and they

won't solve it by being here, but what they will do is bring their ignorance about real democracy and their acceptance of right wing totaltarian elitis governments with them. Why haven't Mexicans fought the corrupt system that is literally killing and enslaving them in poverty?
Fox laughs all the way to the bank. Money flows in from the USA, the more people come here, and the less those right wing Mexican government pigs have to worry about helping their own people.

Mexico needs a real revolution.

[bjb]

33. Revolution in Mexico

If we were to start deporting the illegals, we will have a revolution right here in the USA>

[Bridget Burke]

34. Mexico has already had two revolutions.

I don't think anyone marching in our streets has a problem with Democracy. Nor do the thousands who march supporting the (probable) next president of Mexico.

Read some history.

[Critters2]

51. Why aren't they working for change in the country they claim as their home

[Sterling]

42. Oddly enough they fuck over the douche bags who hire them

with this kind of stunt. I say they should do it everyday. Run the crooks who give them jobs right out of business.

[rigel434]

35. Is there any outer limit?

For those who favor citizenship for all 11 million illegal immigrants, is there any outer limit to this approach? If we make the current 11 million citizens, and 20 million more come here illegally in the next 10 years, will we be obligated to give them citizenship as well? Will we EVER, at any point, have a right to simply enforce our laws?

My feelings on this issue are torn between personaly sympathy for people trying to better their lives and a vague sense that being an American really doesn't mean anything at all if you can come here illegally and then demand the rights of citizens.

But regardless, it's totally obvious that this issue will be decided by boots on the ground. Which is to say the immigrants will keep coming and big business will keep profiting off them regardless of what laws are passed or not passed. The best thing we can do is welcome the immigrants on a personal level and try to assimilate them since they aren't going anywhere.

[hogwyld]

36. Naturalize them all

We can have a sort of naturalization ceremony via broadcast tv. And no, since we're a nation of Immigrants, we should let any who still want to come here the ability to do so. Sometimes, I have to look and make sure I'm on the correct website or if I got zapped to FR somehow. Whether you (generalization) like it or not, they're here to stay, and a LOT more are coming. Better assimilate and learn spanish soon.

[MelliMel]

43. "Better assimilate and learn Spanish soon"?

Why? Because God forbid they assimilate? Oh, I forgot, their culture is superior to any Italian, Polish, German, Swedish, Russian, African, etc culture here, right?

[rigel434]

45. It's all up to them ...

"Oh, I forgot, their culture is superior to any Italian, Polish, German, Swedish, Russian, African, etc culture here, right?"

The Italians, Polish, etc learned English because they knew it was in their interests to do so. They knew they weren't going to get good jobs speaking Polish or Italian. It isn't any different today. Yes, Spanish is increasingly the language spoken in the restaurant kitchen and on the construction site. But go to any white collar office, anywhere in America, and English is and will be the language of choice. And I'm confident in saying that this won't change even in 30 or 40 years.

The current illegal immigrants will be legalized- it's just a matter of the politicians working out the specifics. Whether the soon-to-be Americans prove to be upwardly mobile or not is up to them, and it depends in large part upon their learning English and assimilating to our business culture. Those who have the "reconquista" attitude of hogwyld might enjoy making bold statements, but the fact is that they came here to be part of the American economy and English is the language of the middle and upper levels of that economy.

[MelliMel]

46. And then there will be a great wailing

when those who choose not to learn English are not able to advance.

Immigrants used to expect to have to assimilate to make it. Now, it's considered xenophobic to expect that.

[rigel434]

44. Yo hablo ya un poco espanol ...

"Better assimilate and learn spanish soon."

Actually, it's incumbent upon the immigrants to learn English if they want the truly good jobs in America. Because what the immigrants are doing for the most part right now is competing with poor uneducated Americans for bad jobs. Meanwhile the American fat cats are laughing all the way to the bank on the back of your labor.

[Critters2]

52. If you'd lost your job to illegal immigrants, you'd feel differently

Illegal immigration undercuts wages, and busts unions. Why would a progressive support such things?