Thousands of demonstrators gather in the streets of downtown Los Angeles to protest legislation that cracks down against illegal immigrants, March 25, 2006. REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Posted on 03/25/2006 12:20:20 PM PST by Borax Queen
Senator's bill gives illegal entrants five years to leave the country -
Oscar Soto took the day off from his warehouse job Friday to come with his wife, two children, nephew, niece and mother-in-law to an immigrant-rights rally on Tucson's Northwest Side to stand up for himself and his family.
Oscar Cruz managed to get time off from his apartment maintenance job to stand on the front line of the protest at Sen. Jon Kyl's Tucson office, 7315 N. Oracle Road, and hold a cardboard sign with white spray paint that read: "Senator Kyl: No more walls." It rested on top of a sign that read: "Humanitarian Aid Is Never A Crime."
On Friday both were part of an estimated 500 boisterous protesters who hoisted signs, held U.S. and Mexican flags and chanted, sang and shouted when drivers honked in support.
Participants wore white stickers that had the rally's theme in black letters: "We are not the enemy, we are part of the solution" or "No Somos el enemigo, somos parte de la solución."
In Phoenix, an estimated 20,000 people marched to Kyl's office to protest, according to Phoenix police.
Thousands more took part in protests in cities across the country, staging school walkouts, marches and work stoppages.
In Los Angeles where 2,700 students from at least eight high schools and junior high schools walked out, fights broke out between black students and Hispanic students attempting to join the protest.
In Tucson, neither Cruz nor Soto — who have both lived and worked in the United States for more than a decade without permanent residency or citizenship — had ever been to a rally before. But they said they staunchly oppose recent immigration proposals like House Bill 4437 and a proposal from Sens. Kyl, R-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, that they believe would make them criminals.
"We want residency," said Cruz, 48, who was born in Nicaragua and lived in El Salvador before arriving in the United States in 1985.
Cruz has been able to work on renewable visas under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act but says he wants a chance to become a legal permanent resident.
Mexican native Soto, 32, wants the same thing. He came here 10 years ago to work and said he pays taxes, obeys laws and respects the culture and government of the United States.
"We came here so they don't treat us like criminals," Soto said about participating in the rally.
Soto's two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, are U.S. citizens who were born in this country. He and his wife, Jocabed Soto, are preparing to buy a house. They feel they are law-abiding and productive and deserve the chance to become citizens.
"It is not a crime to work," Oscar Soto said. U.S. citizens Marge and Bill Kinkead of Green Valley joined the largely Spanish-speaking crowd to let lawmakers like Kyl hear their displeasure.
"They deserve some way to come into this country and work without the fear of being sent back in four of five years," said Bill Kinkead, 73, who is a member of Humane Borders.
The Kyl-Cornyn proposal would give illegal entrants up to five years to leave the country. These illegal entrants could apply from their home country to return as temporary workers, or they could apply for permanent residency. House Bill 4437, passed by the House on Dec. 16, would create 700 miles of fence along the border, make living in the country illegally a felony and increase penalties for employers who hire illegal workers.
"We're getting fed up, particularly with the gentleman whose office is behind us," Bill Kinkead said. "I hate the fact that he represents Arizona in Congress." In a written response to Friday's rallies, Kyl didn't address the protesters as much as reiterate his stance on the issues.
"I have advocated for the adoption of a comprehensive plan that increases border security, provides a temporary-worker program, ensures enforcement of our laws at the border and at the workplace, and deals with those illegal immigrants already in the country," the statement said.
Democrat Jim Pederson, who is challenging Kyl for his Senate seat, issued a statement criticizing Kyl's proposal as a last-ditch election-year effort that "borders on fantasy."
He said marchers targeted Kyl's office because "they know that Jon Kyl's immigration plan is no plan at all. It's unworkable, partisan and needlessly divisive." He said he would offer a plan that addresses border enforcement as well as a way to deal with the people already here.
Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network, called Friday's rally one of the biggest immigrant-rights rallies in recent Tucson history. Allen said 200 people showed up in December for a similar rally.
"People know that this is a historic moment and that the immigrant community is part of making history," Allen said. "That's why they are here."
Glenn Spencer, president of the American Border Patrol, which advocates for stricter border enforcement, watched and filmed the protest. He said the relatively small number of cars that honked represented the true sentiment.
Those who didn't honk "are the silent majority," Spencer said. "They do nothing and I think that's a reflection of the polls that show people want our borders controlled."
Cruz and the Sotos said Friday's rally, which concluded about 12:30 p.m., will make an impact.
"It will make them see how many we are and what we want," Jocabed Soto said.
Senator's bill gives illegal entrants five years to leave the country -
No one posted this yet, so I went ahead... similar to Phoenix protestor threads from yesterday ping.
1. Screw them and what they oppose.
2.They are criminals.
This is not their country, and I could not possibly care less what they think.
The Bush administration and their cronies in the GOP and in the Democrat party continue to represent foreign interests rather than the interests of America. It's unbelievable!
Let these clowns protest, the national media is covering this so the more demands the illegals make the harder it's going to be for the GOP Senate to give in to them.
The illegal aliens and the criminals who hire them and the criminals who harbor them are getting out in the street making their desires known. It is way past time those of us who support the rule of law and secure borders did the same.
Join Veterans for Secure Borders, The Minuteman Project, Latino Americans for Immigration Reform, Mothers Against Illegal Aliens, and other groups protesting amnesty for these criminals, and demanding the government protect our borders.
http://www.areckoning.com/
FReepers should be at this rally in strength. Saturday, May 6, in Crawford, TX.
I live in Phoenix and I was outraged at what I saw on TV. Some of the organizers were interviewed. They seem to think they have the RIGHT to influence public policy when it comes to ILLEGAL immigration. I hope this has been a wake up call for all those who sympathize with their plight. Send them all back to where they came from and let them demonstate against their own governments for whatever beefs they have. This is getting insane.
The issue is illegal, Mexican immigration.
The consequences of illegal Guatemalan immigration could fit in the town of Bellflower (100K)! The consequences of illegal Mexican immigration would barely fit in the state of California (35M).
It looks like an invading army to me.
I live in Kansas. At Lowe's the other day, every announcement they made over the intercom was then repeated in Spanish. I almost puked.
It is everywhere, and none of the powers that be give a crap. I pretty much think we are screwed.
But as someone else pointed out yesterday, 5.9 million people in that area DID NOT protest.
Yep. That was my bud BurbankKarl.
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