A Year Later, Immigrant Action Muted (Fewer 'May Day' Protests This Year?)

Latinos poured onto the streets in astonishing numbers a year ago to demonstrate for immigration policy reform, but as May 1 -- the National Day of Action -- approaches, marches this year have drawn far fewer people. Organizers admit it is unlikely that they can again inspire the flood of humanity that brought home the issue for those far removed from their immigrant roots.

"It was spontaneous," Madison organizer Alex Gillis said of the flood of demonstrators -- officials put their number at 10,000; organizers at twice that -- who marched up West Washington Avenue to the Capitol last April 10 as the fire over immigration reform that swept the nation touched Madison. "We are planning for less people this year," he said.

The smaller demonstrations seen this year are due to the loss of a unifying target, divisions among organizers and the public, and the complexity of the problem, said activists and academic experts.

The multitudes who took to the street last year were marching in reaction to a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, that would have made being in the country without documentation a felony, said Steve Burns, program coordinator for the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.

"There was a lot of justifiable fear in the immigrant community about that punitive legislation," Burns said. "They were very successful in heading off that legislation. The question now is where to go from here."

Congress has grappled with the issue through less punitive proposals over the past year, but has failed to come up with a saleable version.

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice this week adopted immigration reform as a critical issue, Burns said. The group has joined with the Immigrant Workers Union in asking Dane County employers to allow their employees to leave work for a noontime march and rally Tuesday in favor of immigration reform. The Dane County Board also approved a resolution asking employers to let their workers participate.

A number of workers faced termination after attending last year's rally, but the nonprofit Workers' Rights Center negotiated with employers so that there were no known firings in Dane County.

Benjamin Marquez, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recalled that he went out last year to show support for the marchers and their cause. "I was flabbergasted at how many marchers showed up," Marquez said. But he is not surprised at the smaller numbers activated this year.

"There was no lasting political structure and no clearly set themes to carry over from one year to the next," he said.

The provisional coalition, operated under the rubric "Organizacion 10 de Abril," that organized last year's march disappeared soon after, Gillis said Friday. "It was hard to stick together. Everybody had their own idea of what to do," he said.

Today Gillis works with the grass-roots Immigrant Workers Union, which did not exist a year ago. The group is building partnerships with labor organizations and addressing a variety of workers' issues, including a new state law that requires proof of legal presence in the country to be eligible for a driver's license or state photo ID card.

The driver's license has left people "a little pessimistic," Gillis said. But he hopes the new law, which critics say will force many undocumented workers to drive without a license or insurance, will be a rallying issue.

Part of the difficulty in launching a lasting social movement from the immigrant rights marches is the limited political standing of undocumented workers: They can't vote.

There is great division also among the American public on what to do about immigration, Marquez said. "Polls show there is support for treating them humanely, but beyond that, it's a question," he said.

Thomas Archdeacon, a history professor at UW-Madison, said the fact that undocumented workers don't vote means there is less pressure on Congress to find a solution to the thorny problem of immigration.

"If you are a member of Congress, you will probably not lose any sleep on the likelihood of losing your seat on the issue,"It is also to the advantage of both political parties to keep the issue out there, unresolved, because any resolution is bound to alienate someone, he said.

And some businesses don't want the flood of undocumented immigration stanched, because the want access to the workers, Archdeacon said.

"The presumption is that there is a program that will get undocumented immigration under control. I'm not sure there is," he said.

Marquez recalled that a 1986 immigration reform bill gave amnesty to some 3 million undocumented workers, many of them living in California, who, freed from fear of discovery, fanned out across the nation.

That reform did little to stem the tide of workers entering the country illegally, he noted.

Marquez offers a solution to the problem of illegal immigrants, but admits it's politically unpopular. "You need to build up the economies of the sending nations, so the poorest of the poor don't feel the need to emigrate," he said.

"Marquez recalled that a 1986 immigration reform bill gave amnesty to some 3 million undocumented workers, many of them living in California, who, freed from fear of discovery, fanned out across the nation."

This is the ONLY flaw I've ever found in the Reagan Administration. Loved the man, hated this.

BUT....Excuse me? These VERY same people are b*tchin because we're trying to promote a Representative Republic in the ME and in other spots around the globe to stomp out Dictatorships and let other peoples breathe free?

"'You need to build up the economies of the sending nations, so the poorest of the poor don't feel the need to emigrate...'"

My opinion of these illegal immigrants would change overnight if they were uniformly desiring the overhaul of Mexico. If they demanded that of Mexico, and if they respected our culture/government.

It’s one thing to need economic wealth for survive, but it’s quite another to appreciate and desire to protect that which enables it. If such a movement was possible among these illegal immigrants, then I would gain so much respect for them...even though there’s obvious illegalities in their action. The difference while subtle, makes all the difference.

Although it’s just not how it is. If it was that way, it would be so easy to decide what to do...

I believe Reagan’s amnesty prgram went with strings to prevent more illegals coming in - strings which the adminstrations of Bush I, The Great Stain-Maker, and Bush II ignored or failed to enforce (in the case of the latter probably actively worked to undermine.)

While on the Subject, there are two separate threads in this forum about Bush II and his activities, one deals with speaking to Miami Dade College graduate, a large number of whom I suspect are Hispanic, about contacting their representatives to support the amnesty bill Bush is proposing, along with meeting with the overwhelming Democratic Hispanic Caucus to get support for this legislation.

So I would celebrate too early.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825263/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825319/posts

This is the ONLY flaw I've ever found in the Reagan Administration. Loved the man, hated this.

And it had quite an adverse effect on CA politics. ....as far as the GOP is concerned, at least. CA's huge electoral block went to the GOP nominee in 6 straight general elections before that amensty took effect. Then the voting demographic changed drastically and the Dems have owned CA ever since.

Fast forward to 2007. Instead of granting amnesty to "only" 3 million illegals (as was done in the late 80s), we now have over 20 million illegals (and possible and helluva lot more) to deal with. ....the vast majority of whom will registering Democrat after gaining their citizenship, of course. And unlike the late 80s these aliens aren't just concentrated in the Southwest anymore, but are spead out over the entire country.

Adding over 20 million Democrat voters to an electorate as evenly divided as ours is suicide for the GOP. .....and the GOP establishment is actively working to bring this to fruition.

“’You need to build up the economies of the sending nations, so the poorest of the poor don’t feel the need to emigrate...’”

...One solution would be to tear out the corrupt leadership of the Mexican government, root and branch. Meanwhile, it would really be nice if the Media stopped portraying those of us opposed to ILLEGAL immigration as racist Neanderthals. This is the primary reason the gutless Beltway GOP is so squishy on this issue, including the President. As much as I respect him, I have difficulty buying into his Amnesty bill that’s been hovering like a huge, ugly storm cloud.

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