Posted on 09/20/2003 9:32:01 AM PDT by VU4G10
DALLAS - Immigration advocates, labor unions and civil rights activists in North Texas have joined a nationwide campaign in favor of legalizing the nation's undocumented work force.
Starting today, some 18 buses carrying about 900 activists and immigrant workers will embark from cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle and Miami on a road trip called the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride.
They will stop at rallies in cities along the way, including one in Dallas on Sept. 27. The trip will also include a stop in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress. It will culminate with a rally in New York City on Oct. 4.
Their goal is to stir public interest in a renewed effort to gain legal status and labor protections for undocumented workers.
"There's a real energy," said Willy Gonzalez, head of the North Texas welcoming committee for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride.
There are about 9 million undocumented immigrants nationwide, according to a study by The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Undocumented workers often take jobs in construction, restaurants, meat-packing plants and farms.
"Immigrant workers are demanding fairness and to be respected," Gonzalez said. "One of the goals in this is to mobilize and continue to mobilize in order for immigrant workers to get a fair shake."
Advocates in North Texas said now is the time to re-ignite the immigrant worker debate because they have united a diverse group -- auto workers, African-Americans, Muslim immigrants and the Catholic Diocese of Dallas -- on the need to revisit the issue.
Margarita Alvarez, of the Dallas-based Center for Human Rights, said the diversity gives the movement clout.
"There are more possibilities of realizing a legalization," Alvarez said.
Dallas City Councilman Steve Salazar held a news conference Friday in Dallas to promote the upcoming event. He also reminded the community that the city is a "safety zone" for immigrants. Under a 1997 Dallas city resolution, the city doesn't deny services to people on the basis of their immigration status.
"The city is not in the business of doing the work of the immigration service," he said.
Salazar said he promoted the idea because immigrants felt a backlash when Congress enacted immigration and welfare changes in the mid-1990s.
Legalization -- often called amnesty -- and a guest worker program were top issues for the Bush administration before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since then, national security and the push to tighten immigration policy have been on the forefront.
"President Bush promised it to them, and he hasn't followed through," said Jimmy Conway, president of the United Auto Workers Local 276 in Arlington.
Because the 9-11 hijackers were visitors to this country, the government has been trying to better track foreign visitors.
Rally planned
Welcoming rally for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride: 2 p.m.. Sept. 27, Old Red Courthouse, 400 W. Commerce, Dallas.
African-Americans and Labor Unions are the only groups dumb enough to celebrate and welcome the people who want to steal their livlihoods.
Our country has truly gone mad.
Nah. If they are legalized that means you have to pay them real wages. And if you pay them real wages that means that unions are able to compete.
You conveniently left off the word "illegal," Gonzalez. You want fairness? You want respect? For starters, stop making "demands." You have no right to "demand" anything. Respect must be earned. Come into the country legally. Then you'll get "respect" and "fairness." To sneak across the borders illegally, and then demand "respect," is like robbing a bank and then demanding to be treated like a valued customer. Go to h**.
Are you suggesting that legalizaion would solve the problem?
LOL.
Once illegals are legalized, sure you have to pay them real wages, which creates a vacuum for low-paid labor into which will pour millions of new illegals.
Legalizing the current illegals accomplishes nothing good.
Nothing.
Deporting illegals, draconian punishment to businesses that hire illegals, and forcing Mexico to control its citizens are the way to fix this problem.
Does that mean just the 8 million criminals who have already broken into our country AND the half million moving this way because of this talk AND the 3 million who would crowd in before some date written in sand AND the five million who would break into our country AFTER the phantom date and claim they were here before that date?
I simply don't understand how American blacks can support this. The wetbacks are displacing blacks. Black ex-cons and high school drop outs will never get entry level jobs so long as there are wetbacks to train. Unions are after the dues and dems are after the votes but there is no rational reason for the nation to consider amnesty. If we want cheap labor, grant a new class of visa to the NEXT million knocking on the border. Don't reward crimnality especially when there is nothing positive in it for us. This is a liberal issue and must be opposed.
The 7 to 10 million undocumented aliens in the US represent a major social and legal crisis. The huge numbers of the undocumented stagger the imagination - nearly 1 in 30 people in America is an undocumented alien. This is not just a legal crisis, it represents a collapse of statesmanship and borders on a political/social calamity. Often, people look at this as an enforcement problem, but it is deeper than that - the problem is not just with enforcement of the law, the problem is the law itself. The law is being broken because the law itself is broken - the law on the books does not work for the real America outside of the Beltway.
Immigration law, a creature of the DC elite, is out of sync with America. Immigrants across the world seek economic opportunity in their journey to America. Complementing that supply of immigrants is the need in the American economy for large numbers of immigrant labor at various levels. Unfortunately, the DC elite view immigration primarily in terms of international social work instead of the needs of the economy. Refugees, the Diversity Lottery, and above all, Family-based immigration dominate thinking and policy in government and in the numerous interest groups busy in the immigration field - both on the pro-immigration and the anti-immigration sides. Instead of being the heart of the discussion, America's desparate need for large scale Employment-based immigration is consigned to the periphery of the immigration debate.
This state of affairs has made the undocumented problem into the Elephant in the Room - everyone knows about the problem, but hardly anyone wants to talk about it. However, the inevitable can only be delayed, not denied - we believe that a massive legalization program is inevitable. Recent events lead us to believe that the political stars may finally be aligning the right way for massive legalization, the Washington Times reports "All eight of the Democratic presidential contenders at [last] Thursday's debate embraced amnesty for illegal aliens now in the United States." Going into the Presidential election in 2004, it is hard to imagine President Bush not responding in some way to this initiative. When, not If, is the only issue still to be decided about a legalization program that would embrace millions.
You cannot be prosperous when your are crowded.
You cannot be free when you are crowded.
We have enough people.
Immigration of all kinds must stop before we lose what is left of our freedom.
Actually, that's not exactly true. He "promised" Vicente Fox he would discuss options. That alone was enough to make my blood boil.
Law-abiding American citizens are demanding fairness and respect for existing immigration laws. We want you "immigrant workers" criminal invaders sent back to where you came from.
We're just not making enough noise about it.
Yet.
What a group (sarcasm). I bet the rank-and-file auto-workers aren't thrilled about this, only the corrupt union heads. African-Americans? I bet the average black isn't to thrilled either. As for the Muslims, well amnesty would make it easier for one of their terrorist allies to blow up something here. And as for the Catholic Church, where do I start.
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