Close them!
I'm getting older by the day. We may as well get this thing overwith now.
Posted on 04/27/2006 9:29:02 AM PDT by VU4G10
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pro-immigration activists say a nationwide boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood Americas's streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it tackles reform.
But while such a massive turnout could make for the largest protests since the civil rights era of the 1960s, not all Latinos, nor their leaders, were comfortable with such militancy -- fearing a backlash in Middle America.
"There will be 2 to 3 million people hitting the streets in Los Angeles alone. We're going to close down Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Tucson, Phoenix, Fresno," said Jorge Rodriguez, a union official who helped organize earlier rallies credited with rattling Congress as it debates the issue.
Immigration has split Congress, the Republican Party and public opinion. Conservatives want the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to be classified as felons and a fence built along the Mexican border.
Others, including President George W. Bush, want a guest worker program and a path to citizenship. Most agree some reform is needed to stem the flow of poor to the world's biggest economy.
"We want full amnesty, full legalization for anybody who is here (illegally)," Rodriguez said. "That is the message that is going to be played out across the country on May 1."
Organizers of the May Day marches, which have strong support from big labor and the Roman Catholic church, vow that America's major cities will grind to a halt and its economy will stagger as Latinos walk off their jobs and skip school.
Teachers' unions in major cities have said children should not be punished for walking out of class. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District said school principals had been told that they should not try to keep students in class but instead should walk with the children to help keep order.
In Chicago, Catholic priests have helped organize protests, sending information to all 375 parishes in the archdiocese.
CRITICS CHARGE INTIMIDATION
Chicago activists predict that the demonstrations will draw 300,000 people -- compared to the 100,000 who turned out on March 10 to clog downtown streets. Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it will close seven meatpacking plants so workers can participate.
In New York, leaders of the May 1 Coalition said a growing number of businesses had pledged to close and allow their workers to attend a rally in Manhattan's Union Square.
But some Latinos have expressed ambivalence about the boycott and marches, saying they could stir up anti-immigrant sentiment amid an incendiary atmosphere surrounding the issue.
Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese, who has emerged as an outspoken champion of immigrant rights -- even calling on priests to defy laws aimed at those who would help illegals -- has lobbied against a walkout.
"Personally I believe we can make May 1st a 'win-win' day here in Southern California," Mahony said in a statement. "Go to work, go to school, and then join thousands of us at a major rally afterward."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant who has long fought for immigrant rights, has taken a low profile on the issue. A Villaraigosa spokeswoman said the mayor expects protesters to be "lawful and respectful" and wants children to stay in school.
Critics have accused pro-immigrant leaders of stirring up uninformed young Latinos by telling them that their parents were in imminent danger of being deported and accuse them of trying to bully Congress.
"It's intimidation," Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman volunteer border patrol group, said of the May 1 events. "It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag."
"It angers the people you are trying to impress," he said. "This will backfire just like the Mexican flag parades backfired."
(Additional reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman in Los Angeles, Dan Trotta in New York and Michael Conlon in Chicago)
From the article:
Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said it will close seven meatpacking plants so workers can participate.
These employers want their cheap labor very badly.
Close them!
I'm getting older by the day. We may as well get this thing overwith now.
I do not think the church should get involved in politics to this extent, particularly since the illegals have broken our laws. I'm not a hard-nosed send-them-all-back either. Actually I'm torn about it.
Buses? Heck, march them back across the border, same way as most of them came here. (And I won't complain if a few liberal citizens get caught up in the crowd...)
Dems are promoting this. Bet they hope this throws the country off the war and McCarthy. Funny how some have come out to speak about toning it down just after Bush met with a bunch of the mayors...........
Conservative shopping day sounds like a good plan to me.
I get paid Friday so Monday I'll be out spending like a madman. I'm looking at either getting a nice Springfield M1A or a Remington 700 and I'll be leaving $20 tips at whatever restaurant I eat at.
The businesses that stay open because they don't exploit/pander to illegals deserve our support.
I think we should also report such businesses for suspected hiring of illegals. Or am I going too far?
Yo Quiero Taco Bell
To me, too. Let's see, what do I need? Oh, new sheets for the guest room, and maybe I should buy a new set of dishes.
President Bush wants a guest worker program and a path to citizenship.
Both Rodriguez and Bush are pushing for the same thing, it is just that Rodriguez is straightforward about it while Bush dissembles and obfuscates.
Call in the National Guard.......Surround the million.............Frog march them back across the border. Close the border..tight. Make sure the criminals have their kids with them. No one left behind.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District said school principals had been told that they should not try to keep students in class but instead should walk with the children to help keep order.
Looks like it's going to be another fun day in L.A.
Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese, who has emerged as an outspoken champion of immigrant rights -- even calling on priests to defy laws aimed at those who would help illegals -- has lobbied against a walkout.
Are you losing control of the flock, Roger?
But...but they said this human chain in Phoenix wasn't supposed to interfere with anything.
Get the scoops ready to go.
I think they are rabid enough and probably emboldened enough by support from our treacherous leaders to make this mistake.
President Bush generally favors plans to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at U.S. citizenship without leaving the country, but does not want to be more publicly supportive because of opposition among conservative House Republicans, according to senators who attended a recent White House meeting.
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