Posted on 04/10/2006 3:07:01 PM PDT by Spiff
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.10.2006
advertisementA scuffle that broke out after counter-protestors torched a Mexican flag at Armory Park resulted in four or five people being taken into custody by Tucson police.
Police initially detained a young Hispanic woman in the wake of the flag burning and were escorting the woman to the Police Department’s downtown headquarters as a group of protestors followed.
The confrontation escalated when one man tried to break through a ring of officers surrounding the woman and he and several others were also detained.
About 11 people calling themselves the Border Guardians gathered at Armory park to burn a Mexican flag, a protest similar to one the group had Sunday in front of the Mexican consulate in Tucson.
The Border Guardians were surrounded by police as well as marchers, who locked their arms together with their backs to the counter-protesters and implored the massive crowd to ignore the burning.
An estimated 10,000 marchers had arrived at the Downtown park about noon Monday, where they were met by fewer than a dozen counter-protesters carrying anti-immigrant signs.
Specially trained crowd controllers wearing yellow armbands urged the crowd to remain peaceful, as it has been all morning.
More than 460 rows of marchers, each row at least 25 abreast, filled the streets on the route from a South Side church to Downtown, part of a nationwide protest against proposed legislation that would make it a felony for illegal immigrants to be in the United States.
Meanwhile, Tucson Unified School District reported 8,000 students, or about 13 percent of its student body, were absent Monday. That’s far more absences than usual, school officials said, but they couldn’t immediately say how many are typical on a Monday. TUSD also counted at least 520 classroom teachers out Monday, but says it was able to cover most classes with substitute teachers.
The march began at the corner of South 12th Avenue and Ajo Way, at St. John’s Catholic Church. From there, marchers streamed down 12th to 10th Avenue and on to Armory Park. At the park, speakers took the stage, leading protestors in chants and song.
Jacob Ruiz, 32, A U.S.-born Hispanic who carried a Mexican and American flag sewn together back-to-back so both were displayed, said he was marching to show his support for immigrant rights. “They build America one house at a time, one wall at a time,” said the draftsman. “Their work is permanent and so should their residency."
Debbie McQueen stood across the street from Armory Park holding a sign that said “No to Amnesty.” Someone tossed a couple of water bottles at her and a companion, but neither was hit.
McQueen said, “I’m here as an American citizen, not to protest, but to have my opinion heard as well.”
Among the marchers was Miguel Santos Nunez, 39, from Mexico, who has lived in Tucson five years, working in construction carpentry, while his wife and three children still live in Mexico. His boss gave him the day off to march, he said, and he hopes that the marches "some way or another pressure the legislators."
Many of the signs protested the legislation, HR 4437. Activist groups handed out American flags, white T-shirts and water bottles to the marchers, who hoisted signs with messages including "This is what America looks like,” “We are workers, not criminals” and "We march today, we vote tomorrow."
Some people carried Mexican flags, but those were far outnumbered by the Stars and Stripes on display. Two protesters had sewn an American flag and a Mexican flag together, which they carried as a banner. Mingled in with the crowd were some parents pushing toddlers in strollers.
Liz Macias, 29, who took the day off from her job at a real estate company, marched with her son Carlos Cuestas, 10, a Davis Bilingual Elementary chool student. She said she was marching because she wants her son “to understand what his family has gone through to better themselves.”
Her son said he felt missing a day of school was worthwhile because “what I learned today is that it’s right to fight for your rights — and what you can do about it and how.”
Also in the crowd was Matt Hogel, 30, a middle school teacher at the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. The U.S. Navy veteran, who described himself as a Republican, said, “I wanted to show my support and appreciation for the immigant working community here in the country. Whatever they are getting out of our country, we are getting tenfold from them, and people need to understand that.”
At about 10th Street, north of Pueblo High School, a lone counter- protestor who declined to identify himself held up a sign reading “Illegal? No rights.” As the marchers passed Pueblo High School, some students left campus to join them.
Other students were already taking part in the day’s protests. Shortly after 9 a.m., a group of 200 students walked off of the campus of Tucson High School near North Euclid Avenue and East Sixth Street, headed toward Downtown.
Carolina and Daniel Villascuesa accompanied their children, Joe and Antoinette Tafoya, both Tucson High students, to the federal courthouse. “I’ve always been a silent advocate,” said Carolina, but after talking to her children about immigration issues, she and her husband decided that they had to join them in the march. Roughly 1,500 of Tucson High Magnet School’s 2,600 students were absent this morning and 200 more walked off campus.
At Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School, 500 W. St. Mary's Road, the entire faculty of 16 was absent. But with only 30 students at the school, substitutes were able to cover.
In neighboring Sunnyside Unified School District, teacher absences were down today, but more than 1,600 students were absent.
And at Amphitheater High School, things went on as normal with no usually high teacher or student absences reported.
Star reporters Brady McCombs, Tom Beal, Daniel Scarpinato and Lourdes Medrano contributed to this report.
So, you have no source and you pulled that number out of your butt.
Using you numbers, the total illegal population in the US would have been huge .
They're not "my" numbers, they are the numbers that ANYONE can see by googling "operation wetback" deportations or "operation wetback" deported
I only mentioned the PBS number to demonstrate that some estimations are even higher. Yes, the PBS number is somewhat unbelievable. NONE that I found were anywhere even close to the number that you ou pulled out of your lying, open borders loony butt.
I hadn't thought of that but an excellent idea! I wonder if our bosses would give us a day off to attend that rally....
Let's keep calling and emailing our senators, and reporting businesses with illegals to ICE: 1.866/347.2423
Lou Dobbs was called a racist by a Mexican on his show. The Mexican said America was nothing without the immigrants. Dobbs then asked him what the Mexicans would be without the U.S. This is when the Mexican started ranting about NAFTA but never asnwered the question.
I often point out that the immigration websites contain a lot of mis-info. This issue of how many were deported proves that.
Your link to a google searh yielded VDare at the top. That article uses the phrase, "possibly a million".
Below that is found a very informative article published in the Handbook of Texas History, which is a very credible source. The phrase that they use, "The INS claimed 1,300,000 though the number officially apprehended did not come anywhere near this total".
"He, somehow, avoided getting hit but others with him were hit HARD. It took 2 rings of police to protect them from the violent thugs who wanted to kill them"
Murder's a felon. If they killed him they would have to be deported, wouldnt they?
I've argued/discussed for that very action here on FR....Many just say "Can't be done".
I say oh yeah it could....one city at a time.
It is used now in virtually every "conversation" between a pro-law and order advocate and a pro-amnesty advocate. With the pro-amnesty advocate doing all of the name calling.
Our nation is full of neutered citizens who've had it a little too good for a little too long. Most would rather just watch their nation slip out of the control of their grasp.
Just wait 15 years when many of the boomers are gone. You'll see a drastically different America then. Either way, with the proliferation of Islam within our borders, things just can't continue peacefully forever.
That really cheeses me off! My dad worked as a laborer 15 years ago. Even with the union he didn't make the equivalent (even by comparing the amounts to today's rates).
Traitor politicians! I am afraid we will be looking at more with a few cowards thrown in with them. Our politicians suck!!!!!!
I'm not sure about the total amount of illegals that removed or fled the country during operation wetback, but during the year 1954 alone the program was able to deport or indirectly cause over 1,000,000 illegals to leave the US.
When is the Catholic Church's anti-abortion rally? Sarcasm on....and I'm a practicing Catholic.
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