Free Republic

Because nothing says “grassroots” like hiring a bunch of tour buses: Immigration advocates expect roughly 1,000 Coachella Valley residents to caravan to Los Angeles on Saturday for a march protesting a new Arizona immigration law. “Nine tour buses spread throughout valley cities are scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. ‘We have to demonstrate that we care as a group. People have to realize it’s time to protest before they start doing the same thing in California. We have to act now,’ said Rosalio Plata, president of Club Michoacan, a community civics organization helping sponsor the trip. In past years, immigrants...

MEXICO CITY – Mexican lawmakers issued a declaration of support for immigrant protests planned in the United States on Monday and said they will send a delegation to Los Angeles to show their solidarity. The declaration, issued late Thursday by all the political parties in the lower house of Congress, contrasts with the position of Mexico's Foreign Department, which has said it will discipline any consular officials who take part in the protests. The delegation of lawmakers will meet with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, it said in a news release from Congress. “The only thing we are looking for...

Cardinal Roger Mahony, an outspoken supporter of congressional proposals to allow illegal immigrants to become citizens, is urging immigrants not to participate in a worker and student boycott planned for May 1. The planned boycott, coming on the heels of massive nationwide protests, calls on students and workers to stay home in support of immigrant rights. "I believe that we can make May 1st a win-win day here in Southern California: go to work, go to school, and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward," Mahony said in a statement released late Sunday. Mahony suggested employers and...