[Illegal]Groups Organize New May Day March: Call for an end to ICE raids & legalization of workers

On May 1, a coalition of organizations will take to the streets in what has now become an annual march for the rights of undocumented immigrants. Many of the groups participating in the march say they will demand an end to the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids and the legalization of millions of undocumented residents.

The March 25th Coalition, the Coalition for Immigrant Human Rights (CHIRLA) and Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional, and several other groups are organizing the event and are calling on the immigrant community and all workers to come together in unity and participate in the “Super Thursday May 1st March.”

An invitation has been extended to democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who organizers say has not yet publicly expressed his position on recent local ICE raids.

“It is important to open a dialogue on immigration, it has to be included in the presidential campaign debate,” said Javier Rodriguez of the March 25 Coalition.

The march, which will start at two different locations —one at the corner of Olympic Blvd and Broadway and the other at MacArthur Park — will start at 2:00 p.m. Both marches will merge on Broadway and 5th Street, moving on to 1st Street and Broadway where the speakers’ stage will be set.

In an effort to attract more young people to the march, organizers will hold a music festival on April 20 at La Casa del Mexico, where eight Spanish rock bands will perform.

“We have distributed more than 100 thousand flyers and we have had over six press conferences at the local and national level. We still have three weeks left, we will motivate even more people during this time,” said Rodriguez.

Organizers have also invited Kate del Castillo and the cast of “Bajo la Misma Luna,” a film about a child from Mexico who crosses the border to reunite with his mother in the U.S, and the popular band Los Tigres del Norte, also part of the film, to be at the march, said Rodriguez.

“We’ll be asking for an end to the raids and the mistreatment and abuse of immigrants,” said Gloria Saucedo, Director of Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional in the San Fernando Valley, where the largest number of raids and deportations has occurred. “We want to take advantage of the opportunity to use our civil rights and express ourselves,” she said.

“It’s time to ask legislators to stop persecuting hardworking people,” CHIRLA’s Executive Director Angelica Salas told EGP, referring to recent anti-illegal immigrant legislation propositions like AB 2102, authored by Mimi Walters (R-73), which Salas says requires every state agency to use the E-Verify program to verify an employee’s immigration status and eligibility to work in the U.S. The program has been shown by several government-sponsored commissions to have a high error rate.

Other measures making their way through the legislature which the groups say are anti-immigrant, are AB 1882 introduced by Martin Garrick (R-74) that requires an arresting agency to notify the appropriate federal agency if the arresting agency has a reason to believe that a person arrested for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and/or drug is an illegal immigrant.

AB 2601 introduced by John J. Benoit (R-64) would prohibit the allocation of vehicle license fee revenues to any city that is declared to be a sanctuary city. Those funds would instead be allocated to cities wanting additional law enforcement training concerning federal immigration law.

“What we are asking for with this march, is the legalization of all workers and a stop to the repression against immigrant workers,” said Carlos Montes of the March 25 Coalition.

Around the world, May 1st is celebrated as International Workers Day. May 1st also honors the “Chicago Martyrs,” labor union members who were sentenced to death for participating in a strike demanding an 8-hour working day. Union members started the strike on May 1,1886; it lasted 4 days and culminated with the Chicago Haymarket Tragedy.

But in the United States, Labor Day, celebrated the first Monday of September, is the day set aside to honor workers. The effort to gain a holiday or day of rest for workers was begun in 1825 by the Central Labor Union. Congress approved Labor Day as a national holiday in 1894.

Last year, during the May 1st march, some demonstrators threw food and water bottles at police, who responded by firing rubber bullets at demonstrators and reporters and struck them with batons, injuring more than 200 people at MacArthur Park.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief William Bratton recently assured that when marchers gather next month, the LAPD would be “peaceful and professional,” and said the LAPD has been training to avoid a repeat of last year’s incident.

Since last year’s rally, 7,400 officers and 400 police recruits have received training in incident management strategies and tactics, said Cmdr Officer Sandy Jo MacArthur.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You tried to start your own little war on this thread, and it looks like you got banned for your troubles. I did get to see your posts before they were zapped- I was laughing at how lame they were. I actually think you might be someone that is just bored and had too much to drink- stirring the pot just to create excitement. Oh well whether you were just stirring the pot or really think the things you said- you are gone now. You did last about as long as a war with Mexico would last though.

Dang! She was on a roll and I missed it! lol

NOTE: Be sure to listen to THE TERRY ANDERSON SHOW SUNDAYS AT 9:00 pm PST (LIVE). Hear Terry’s inciteful monologue, plus listener calls from across America. Sunday’s guest (April 13) will be Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. If you haven’t heard Sheriff Joe, this is a MUST LISTEN for those who appreciate the RULE OF LAW. Don’t miss Terry’s perceptive interview and this frank discussion. Tune in to one of the following:

1) Southern California KRLA-AM-870

2) From Las Vegas and the eleven western states KDWN-AM-720

3) Phoenix: KFNX-AM-1100

4) The RBN Network

5) listen in on the internet at www.krla870.com

Spread the word about this great show!

Terry Anderson Live Thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2001144/posts

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.