Man at center of big protests a familiar face

Nearly 30 years ago, before San Luis, Ariz., was a town, Elias Bermudez drove around its dirt streets hollering into a bullhorn that was strapped to the roof of his Chevy.

Ever since, the name of the ex-convict and former San Luis mayor has become synonymous with protest and activism. The voice of a popular Phoenix radio show program, he has developed a reputation as a leading voice in a series of pro-immigration protests in Phoenix that are growing progressively more massive.

One of the first to serve as mayor of San Luis, he is the only mayor to do hard time. He served 18 months in a federal prison after pleading guilty in 1996 to laundering drug profits. Prior to that, he served six months for a bribery charge.......

He called current immigration policy "fatal," comparing the total number of illegal immigrants who have died trying to cross the border in recent years to the total number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The immigration problem, he said, is a racial issue, "but not in the sense of racism ... It's about culture," he said.

He said that though he discouraged protesters from wielding Mexican flags at this week’s demonstration, he said the flag is a symbol of identity for many Mexican-Americans.

He said many Mexican-Americans are "caught between a rock and a hard place," because they are shunned in Mexico as traitors for leaving, and shunned in the U.S. as invaders.

"A lot of my Anglo-American friends see this as an invasion. I need to invite them to walk in our shoes," he said.

Born near Agua Prieta, Son., Bermudez came to the United States with a border crossing card, and lived in Los Angeles illegally for some years before marrying a U.S. citizen.

The immigration problem, he said, is a racial issue, "but not in the sense of racism ... It's about culture," he said.

The "immigration" problem is only one of media & political MISREPRESENTATION...

IMMIGRANTS

Queuing up:

Being Tested:

ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

Queuing up:

Being Tested:

Wonnnnderful.

Must we look forward to having streets and parks named after this guy, as with Cesar Chavez? (Historic former Army Street in San Francisco was famously renamed about a decade ago. Can't go celebrating the military, after all.)

...It's an unwritten law nowadays that every burg must have a Cesar Chavez Street. Will the pooh-bahs of political correctness force cities to name streets after Elias Bermudez in twenty years?

Dear President Bush:

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this.

I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. All government forms need to be printed in English.
4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.
5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.
7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and donâ€™t enforce any labor laws or tax laws.
13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

We can all do this.
[Mrs T]

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