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Hundreds of thousands rally in LA for immigrants' rights
The Press - Enterprise ^ | 03-25-06 | Peter Prengaman & Bob Jablon

Posted on 03/25/2006 8:03:27 PM PST by Amerigomag

Angered by what they see as increasing hostility toward immigrants, hundreds of thousands of people converged on City Hall Saturday to demand amnesty for illegal aliens and reject federal legislation that would build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters, wearing white T-shirts to symbolize peace, danced, chanted and carried large banners as they filled dozens of streets in downtown.

They chanted "Mexico!" "USA!" and "Si se puede," an old Mexican-American civil rights shout that means "Yes, we can." Many protesters said lawmakers were unfairly targeting immigrants who provide a major labor pool for America's economy.

The rally was organized by unions, religious organizations and immigrant rights groups, with disc jockeys on Spanish-language radio stations calling on listeners to attend. Crowd estimates varied widely through the afternoon as protesters came and went and dozens of streets were closed down. Police Cmdr. Louis Gray Jr., incident commander for the Los Angeles rally, said aerial helicopter snapshots and other crowd estimation techniques placed the estimated number of demonstrators at more than 500,000.

"America is a nation of immigrants, and we're also a nation of laws," Bush said in his weekly radio address about the emotional immigration issue that has driven a wedge into his party. Bush sides with business leaders who want legislation to let some immigrants stay in the country and work for a set period of time.

Many protesters also took issue with the argument that amnesty for immigrants who entered illegally would be unfair to those who entered legally. "You always hear the argument about 'being unfair to the people waiting in line,'" said Perias Pillay, 44, who immigrated legally from Malaysia when he was 18. "But the reality is that most people don't qualify to wait in line. The government needs to make it easier to immigrate."

(Excerpt) Read more at pe.com ...


TOPICS: US: California
KEYWORDS: coma; corncob; illegalimmigration; immigrantlist; immigrationlist; tacos; uninsured
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To: Travis McGee
Nice flag of Che, a communist pile of crap. Mexicans want special treatment. They simply don't want laws to apply to them as they have applied to Italian, Irish, and Eastern Euro immigrants.

They think that just because they are Mexican they are entitled. Whitey owes them.

Mexicans don't work any harder than any other immigrant who REALLY build this country starting with the industrial revolution.
121 posted on 03/26/2006 7:51:37 PM PST by SQUID
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To: Sic Luceat Lux

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.


122 posted on 03/26/2006 8:16:13 PM PST by SUSSA
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To: SUSSA
FReepers should be at this rally in strength. Saturday, May 6, in Crawford, TX.

Thanks for telling me about this. Have to make some plans for it. Thank you again.

123 posted on 03/26/2006 8:32:11 PM PST by Sic Luceat Lux
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To: A. Pole
Actually Mexicans are more descendants of Indians than Spaniards. Most of them are either Mestizo or pure blood Indians

Er, um, Mestizo means that they have Spaniard descendancy, in addition to "Indigenous", or Indio in the vernacular (the opposite being Guero). That's why they refer to themselves as "La Raza Cosmica" - the cosmic race, a mixture of European and Amerindian (this name came from the Mexican philosopher Jose Vasconcelos, and is a bit controversial itself, but it was picked up by predominantly Mestizo activists in the U.S., so I use it here). And of course, since it is a mix, the mixture fraction varies. But they all descend to some degree to those original Spaniard adventurers, land grantees, and settlers.

The breakdown in Mexico for the last century has been relatively stable, with ~ 8 - 10% Indigenous, 60% Mestizo, and 20% self described as White. That means that over 85% of the population has some descendancy from the Spaniard settlers of whatever stripe - not all "Conquistadors", but certainly part of the gang. So while a bit cheeky of a statement, it's not far off the mark.

Where I grew up, on the Mexican border ("La Frontera"), most of the Mexican people were white Spaniards. They were descendants of land grantees and soldiers sent north mostly about 150 - 200 years ago to secure the frontier. The man who taught me Spanish in high school was from Hermosillo, and he was straight European white. Yet he was 15 or more generations Mexican (Mexico ain't called "Old Mexico" for nothing - it's been a country since 1519!). The Indians always lived in the far south, in the jungle - like the nice ethnic Mayan lady who lives next door to my father: she's from Oaxaca. Central and Northern Mexico - especially Northeastern Mexico, on the Texas border - has always been Spaniard in character. The Indians in the north are more familiar - Yaqui, Tohono O'odham, Apache, Comanche in Texas. But these are small groups comparatively - the light skinned Gueros, descendants of Los Conquistadores, dominate.

124 posted on 03/26/2006 10:18:19 PM PST by Regulator
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To: ladyjane
There were Protestants in Spain in the 1400's?

Um, the Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478, but lasted until 1834. True, it was initially oriented towards Muslims and Jews, but:

The Inquisition was also used against focuses of early Protestantism, Erasmism and Illuminism and in the 18th century against Encyclopedism and French Enlightenment

My facts aren't mixed up. And as far as being anti-Catholic, well, the wife's Catholic, but I'm the 10th generation of German Anabaptists and French Huguenots who settled in the Carolina's about 270 years ago. In addition to English Anglicans and Scotch-Irish who ended up in the same place. They were all sorta "independent minded", and ended up stirring up trouble (ergo the screen name Regulator ), and ultimately led to George III kinda losing his land.

So perhaps you'll forgive me for a bit of anti-Papist indulgence. It's a bit genetic, and Y'all Catholics who came here since then have mostly...not completely...gone along with the program. But in Mexico, that isn't the case.

Not sure I want to confront what my ancestors had to. One of the reasons I think Mexico ought to stay Mexico, and America stay America.

I guess you could just call me obstinate about that.

125 posted on 03/26/2006 11:07:50 PM PST by Regulator
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To: Amerigomag

Why do they come here?

What is so bad about Mexico? Is it bad because of the enviroment (too hot or too cold?). Is it a factor that is natural? Is that why they come here? They have oil, and gas, and gold. Why would they leave that?

Or is man-made, like Endemic Corruption? Is that why they come? Will they bring those values with them? Don't they love their country? Why dont they fix these things before coming here? Maybe I just dont understand.

Or maybe I think they should clean their own back yard before they sh*t in mine!


126 posted on 03/26/2006 11:29:18 PM PST by truemiester (If the U.S. should fail, a veil of darkness will come over the Earth for a thousand years)
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To: Regulator

Yes, the Spanish Inquisition began in 1478 but lasted 14 years until 1491, well before the Protestant movement of the 16th century. So Protestants couldn't have been targeted.

One nice things about FR is that it forces you to look up information. On Dogpile I found:

"In the fourteen years of the activity of the Spanish Inquisition, from its establishment in 1478 to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, we hear of only one persecution directed against a Jewish community, where the Jewry of Huesca was accused in 1489 of having admitted conversos (pseudo-converts from Judaism to Christianity) to the Jewish fold. It was precisely the inability of the inquisitorial courts to check Jewish influence on the conversos that served as a decisive argument for the Catholic monarchs in banishing Jews from Spain..." (Baron, Dr. Salo Wittmayer, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, New York, 1937, Volume 2, p.58)."

Not being an historian i can't evaluate the validity of the above statement but clearly Martin Luther was not posting his theses in Spain in 1478!

Another nice thing about Free Republic: you get to learn about groups of people and what they have done to protect themsleves from injustice. I had wondered about your screen name Regulator but never knew its history. It's too bad the NC Regulators didn't have the same success that the SC Regulators had.


127 posted on 03/27/2006 6:31:02 AM PST by ladyjane
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To: Amerigomag

I think that we need to stop using "illeagal immigration" and start using "illegal aliens", "illegal invaders", etc. If we take the immigration part out, it will make it harder for them to make us sound like we are anti immigration. They can't twist it to make it sound like we are anti immigrant worker. We can say that we are pro immigration, pro immigrant worker as long as they enter the country legally.


128 posted on 03/27/2006 6:54:10 AM PST by looscnnn ("Olestra (Olean) applications causes memory leaks" PC Confusious)
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To: ladyjane
Your information is at variance with the Catholic Encyclopedia:
In Spain, however, it remained operative into the nineteenth century. Originally called into being against secret Judaism and secret Islam, it served to repel Protestantism in the sixteenth century, but was unable to expel French Rationalism and immorality of the eighteenth. King Joseph Bonaparte abrogated it in 1808, but it was reintroduced by Ferdinand VII in 1814 and approved by Pius VII on certain conditions, among others the abolition of torture. It was definitely abolished by the Revolution of 1820.

129 posted on 03/27/2006 8:46:21 AM PST by inquest (If you favor any legal status for illegal aliens, then do not claim to be in favor of secure borders)
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To: stopem
Let them all go demonstrate in their socialist country !

Mexico has a free market economy, has a 3% growth rate (2005), 3.6% rate unemployment/under employment, and a poverty rate of 40%. The upper 10% rake in 35.6% of household income while the lower 10%'s share is 1.6%. (source, CIA World Factbook)

What gives you the idea that Mexico is socialist?

130 posted on 03/27/2006 10:57:22 AM PST by lucysmom
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To: MA2
A limited amnesty policy should be considered. America can benefit from legalizing many of the illegal immigrants. Addressing the immigration promblem is long overdue, with no easy solution.

We've done amnesty and we've done a guest worker program, then ended the guest worker problem to stop illegal immigration and end worker abuse. What's the value in trying failed programs over again?

We don't need new law, we need new policy in terms of enforcement.

131 posted on 03/27/2006 11:05:11 AM PST by lucysmom
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To: truemiester
Or is man-made, like Endemic Corruption? Is that why they come? Will they bring those values with them? Don't they love their country? Why dont they fix these things before coming here? Maybe I just dont understand.

The Mexicans that come here is search of work are the victims of discrimination and corruption. I suppose they could bring a culture of corruption with them, but it is more likely that they are rejecting it when the cross the border.

They come because their needs are not philosophical, but real and immediate, and we allow it. Illegal immigration works for both countries, Mexicans who benefit from corruption and discrimination can go on benefiting; and Americans who want to get more, pay less can continue to think they are entitled.

If it weren't for northward migration as a safety valve, its possible that pressure would build in Mexico to the point of exploding. Would that be good for us or not?

132 posted on 03/27/2006 11:18:54 AM PST by lucysmom
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To: lucysmom

Becuase the leaders of the group leading all the demonstrations said and I quote " Capitalism is not working in America, we demand socialism"! And she is from Mexico.


133 posted on 03/27/2006 1:26:24 PM PST by stopem (Call any co you deal with and insist they not let any illegal work on or near your property, we did!)
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To: lucysmom
I suppose they could bring a culture of corruption with them, but it is more likely that they are rejecting it when the cross the border.

No, they're fleeing the consequences of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're rejecting it. Same way that when Californians move to red states, they're fleeing the consequences of loopy leftism, but they're also bringing it with them.

134 posted on 03/27/2006 2:52:39 PM PST by inquest (If you favor any legal status for illegal aliens, then do not claim to be in favor of secure borders)
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To: stopem
Becuase the leaders of the group leading all the demonstrations said and I quote " Capitalism is not working in America, we demand socialism"! And she is from Mexico.

OK, so the demonstrators are socialist, or at least some are socialist; how does that mean that Mexico is socialist?

In a country with 40% of its population living below the poverty line, I'm not surprised that socialism would look pretty darn good to them. That's usually how it works when a significant number of people live in poverty, they look around for a better, or at least different way.

135 posted on 03/27/2006 6:14:43 PM PST by lucysmom
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To: lucysmom

Thank you! You have made my point!

"If it weren't for northward migration as a safety valve, its possible that pressure would build in Mexico to the point of exploding. Would that be good for us or not?"

This si why the 'migration' as you called it must be stopped! The pressure must build! The explosion must occur, otherwise there would be no pressure to change the legacy of corruption.

If we stop being a 'releif valve' for Mexico and Cuba, there will be a massive up swelling of resentment agaisnt the type of life they lead and there will be change. If it is through revolution or democracy is less important than the fact that these countries MUST CHANGE!!

We are retarding their growth and allowing those who prey upon the weak to continue. There is no reason to change, now.


136 posted on 03/27/2006 7:57:06 PM PST by truemiester (If the U.S. should fail, a veil of darkness will come over the Earth for a thousand years)
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To: SQUID

And they are insulting every true real IMMIGRANT who came here legally and have RESPECT for all things America. As opposed to their mexican flag waving DEMANDS, they are slapping every American and Immigrant in the face.

The reason LosAngeles has all this so called power is because of the mexican mayor, moral of the story don't vote for a mexican ever.

The mexican mayor needs to be recalled just as you all did to Gray Davis.


137 posted on 03/28/2006 4:31:03 AM PST by stopem (Call any co you deal with and insist they not let any illegal work on or near your property, we did!)
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To: stopem
And they are insulting every true real IMMIGRANT who came here legally and have RESPECT for all things America.

All of my grandparents immigrated to the US from Europe in the early 1900s. They all came legally, filling out the forms, undergoing the health checks, in short, jumping through all the hoops to get here. I agree with you, and I know recent legal immigrants who resent the special treatment of Mexican illegals.

The reason LosAngeles has all this so called power is because of the mexican mayor, moral of the story don't vote for a mexican ever.

LA is definitely not the place to go if you don't like Mexicans. It has a large Mexican population and strong Spanish/Mexican history. In fact, its Spanish/Mexican history goes back further than its history as part of the US. The Spanish established the first colony in 1669, but California did not become US territory until 1848. It is close to the Mexican border. The name, Los Angeles, is Spanish.

Villaraigosa is American. He was born in LA. His father, a bum, was a Mexican immigrant his mother divorced when he was a young child. His mother was born in the US.

The previous LA mayor, Kenneth Hahn, is not of Mexican decent. He is quoted as saying "Los Angeles is a Mexican city." The fact is, with a large Mexican-American population, nobody is going to be elected in LA who is hostile to Mexicans.

138 posted on 03/28/2006 8:27:21 AM PST by lucysmom
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To: lucysmom
It has a large Mexican population and strong Spanish/Mexican history.

I'd take that with a grain of salt. Yes, I know the dates of when California was under (nominal) control of what country. Nonetheless, I think you'd have a pretty hard time finding a single "Mexifornian" whose ancestry in California goes back more than a couple of generations. The Anglo population of California was quite large even when the place was under Mexican control. The "Mexican" nature of the place you see nowadays is for the most part of very recent vintage.

139 posted on 03/28/2006 11:05:18 AM PST by inquest (If you favor any legal status for illegal aliens, then do not claim to be in favor of secure borders)
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To: lucysmom

and I see MA never come back to reply to any of us/ bttt


140 posted on 03/28/2006 8:06:37 PM PST by Sic Luceat Lux
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