Posted on 05/01/2006 4:14:52 AM PDT by RWR8189
CHICAGO (AP) -- Unlike their counterparts in other U.S. cities, organizers of an immigrant rights rally here never called on anyone to skip school or refuse to go to work on the day of the event.
But activists still expect to make a powerful statement as tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters march into Chicago's Loop business district Monday.
"We are supporting this march because we want to show that immigrants are part of what makes America great," said Karen Popowski, the director the Polish American Association, which helped organized the Chicago protest. "We would not have supported a boycott . . . or demanding anything."
The march through the Loop and rally at Grant Park is meant to show both support for immigration reform and opposition to legislation that would criminalize the actions of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Smaller protests were planned for elsewhere in Illinois, including Peoria, Bloomington and Rockford.
"The message is that there are hundreds of thousands of people, 12 million people here in this country working without the corresponding immigration papers," said rally organizer Jorge Mujica as marchers gathered early Monday.
"The U.S. government is asking for papers, but they are not giving them out, and that is what we need to fix," said Mujica, who became a naturalized citizen in 1994, years after overstaying a tourist visa. "It's like drivers licenses. If your son is going to be driving you have to give him a drivers license. If you don't, he is going to be driving anyway."
On the eve of the Chicago rally, organizers said they were hopeful collaboration among groups representing the city's Arab, Asian, black, eastern European and Hispanic communities, along with labor groups and religious leaders, could bring out as many as half a million people.
The seeds for Monday's rally were planted after a demonstration at Chicago's federal plaza on March 10 unexpectedly drew more than 100,000 people. Similar rallies have been held in cities across the country since then, casting a national spotlight on the debate over immigration reform.
In Chicago, representatives from roughly 200 area organizations formed the Committee for the March Tenth Movement, the umbrella group that planned Monday's rally.
In other cities, activists urged immigrants to boycott work, school and shopping to show how much they matter to their communities.
But in the weeks leading up to the event in Chicago, organizers stressed they were not calling for a work stoppage and student boycott. Instead, they urged immigrant workers to ask for time off and encouraged students to get permission to attend the demonstration.
No major problems were reported at the last rally in Chicago, but city officials still braced for the massive influx of demonstrators into the Loop. Many of the officials planned to cluster in a joint command center to monitor the crowd.
The fire department said it would have its EMS responders divided into two units. Some would occupy a staging area near the site of the rally, while others would remain on standby if additional resources were needed, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Companies that manage downtown Chicago skyscrapers told their tenants to consider rescheduling meetings and deliveries for another day because of a potential for delays.
Union workers helped build the stage and sound system at the rally site, while roughly 300 volunteers were recruited to serve as "security marshals." At least 100,000 leaflets promoting the march were printed, along with 5,000 picket signs that read "We are America," said another organizer, Gabriel Gonzalez.
Among those who have joined the movement is 21-year-old Soo Suh, president of Korean Americans United Serving Equality at University of Illinois at Chicago.
She said her group recently met with an official from a Korean cultural center who promoted the rally. Suh, who came to the U.S. with her parents from Seoul when she was 6, planned to attend the march before her final exams began later Monday.
"It personally touches me," the political science major said several days before the march. "I know friends and have other family friends that may be illegal immigrants that really suffer from not having certain rights."
SICK!!
Round 'em up and head 'em out!
Americans care more about their 3 dollar gas than this issue, but these idiots and their march won't help themselves with their antics with America's masses.
"We are supporting this march because we want to show that immigrants are part of what makes America great"
Typical strawman. Nobody has any problems with immigrants. We have a problem with ILLEGAL ones. Imagine if someone comes into your house uninvited, and then has the gall to demand to have the game rights and be treated the same as a family member!
Immigrants have been adopted into the American family. Illegal immigrants are trespassers and should at least STFU.
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