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.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/25/immigration.rallies.ap/index.html
Check out the picture, there's a place where you can click for more.
Gosh. Ya think?
Exactly!! Let's start at the top, with President Bush, then the OTHER traitors who are selling America out, in the House and the Senate, right to the man who wants to be the next President, John Traitor McCain!! That includes those on FR who want open borders.
It's unfortunate that we can't fast forward two decades ahead to let them see how these illegals have turned America into a third world country. As long as they have tunnel vision, the will NEVER see it until the reality of this insanity hits them in the teeth. By then, it will be too late.
Is it true that this bill would require all businesses to run every job applicant's SSN through the federal government's homeland security administration?
Reminds me of the barbarian hordes overrunning the Roman Empire. When a nation rots, the right bacteria will come along to advance the process of decomposition.
What Soto doesn't understand is that he does NOT pay taxes, and this shamnesty is NOT going to force employers to pay the minimum wages that law abiding employers do. THAT would upset the apple cart for the big corporations who want that cheap labor. They won't pay income taxes, or workers comp insurance, but they will ALL be eligible for the free services that America offers.
When I look at how many thousands of people there are in all of the marches/demonstrations around the country, it's plain to see that we don't have that many agriculture jobs in America, so illegals are either taking other jobs away from Americans, or they are already on assistance.
I'm sure there are a lot of hard working people who obey the law and are productive. Those people would be welcomed if they did it the right way. Unfortunately 30% of our prisons are filled with illegals, and those are people we don't want in our country, so we've got to have a wall to keep them out when they are released.
Where the hell is the INS, the National Guard, the Army - why are they just letting this go on? Why don't they scoop these ILLEGALS up while they're all together and throw them out?
Why don't any of our leaders know what the word ILLEGAL is? This whole thing is criminal and our blind leaders are to blame.
Illegal aliens have a hard time following the law because they are CRIMINALS. They broke a Federal law coming here, do we think they have any respect for the rest of our legal code? NOT!
In coordination with a former Mexican Consulate.
Ronald Reagan used to fight communism. How quickly we forget.
I would tend to agree with you. Commission of a crime implies temporary suspension of all constitutional rights other than due process. And even the right to due process is suspect because they are not citizens of this country, and therefore not implicitly under its' protections.
Oh goody. More pics to make my tummy churn. LOL The ones who REALLY make me mad are the ones who show up with Mexico's flag. They want to be Americans, but their loyalty lies with that hell hole, Mexico.
Exactly. They were squealing like pigs in Georgia yesterday because lawmakers were considering a 5% tax/surchange on any money wired out of the country to Mexico. I think 35% is a much better idea. A great way to pay for all the services these parasites are taking advantage of.
I have more...
http://www.cnn.com/
:)
Think I'll sorta back out of the room now......see ye!
problem is there are now enough of them that if congress passes anit-illegal immigrant legistation, they can tip the vote one way or anther to get their desired outcome
fact that they are so willing to publcally state their postions and demands is an indication of their confidence in their political power.
There is a fairly strong anti-immigrant contributor to NRO, I cant remember his first name but his last names is Kirkorian, He is from California.
Even he sayd we are way way beyond rounding up illegals and deporting them back to their countries.
The solution is to better seal the border and assimilate those who are here and not allow any more to come here.
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