Please note this line in the following article:
“ We have the power to change the economy of this country.””
RIGHT!!! Turn it into another Mexico, you will. How do these 3rd worlders, who could do nothing for their OWN country think they can improve ours?? They’ll change it, for sure, and not for the better.
Hundreds rally for immigration reform
by David Frey, Aspen Daily News Correspondent
Saturday, December 19, 2009
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Hundreds of immigration reform advocates gathered with candles and signs at Sayre Park on Friday night chanting “Sí se puede!” or “Yes we can!” as organizers urged them to call legislators and the White House to press for a new bill that would give illegal immigrants a path to legal status.
“This is exactly what this state needs to see,” said Julie Gonzalez, a Denver-based organizer with the Reform Immigration for America Campaign, looking out on a crowd of over 200 people, mostly Latinos, who turned out for the vigil. “[It needs to] see the depth and breadth that exists in this state for immigration reform.”
The vigil marked the International Day of the Migrant, a day recognizing migration around the world. It was one of 10 rallies taking place across Colorado on Friday in support of an immigration reform bill that in addition to providing a path to legal residency seeks to unite families divided by the border.
“It’s time for us to be organized,” said Veronica Felix, a Roaring Fork Valley organizer with Congregations and Schools Empowered, which helped sponsor the Glenwood vigil. “It’s time for us to be united. It’s time for us to have a merry Christmas together.”
Organizers are backing a bill submitted to Congress on Tuesday by Rep. Luis Guiterrez, D-Ill. His bill received 70 co-sponsors, including Colorado Reps. John Salazar, Diana DeGette, Jared Polis and Ed Perlmutter, all Democrats.
“These comprehensive immigration reforms are much-needed to fix our broken immigration system,” DeGette said in a press release. “This bill includes the common-sense solutions that will move our immigration system towards a humane approach that will help build our economy, protect children and families, and provide for effective enforcement.”
The vigil was one of 10 taking place across Colorado on Friday, including five in Ski Country, where organizers say activists are becoming more involved because of the critical role they say immigration plays in the ski industry.
Heather Rousseau/Aspen Daily News
Over 200 people came out Friday night to advocate for immigration reform in Glenwood Springs. The demonstration was part of a larger nationwide effort to draw attention to the issue.
“This is the first time Colorado’s ski towns — immigrants and allies alike — are getting in on the discussion,” said Brendan Greene, a community organizer with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which organized the statewide vigils.
In addition to Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Montrose and Grand Junction, vigils took place in the high country at Dillon, Avon, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison and Telluride.
“The ski industry is Colorado’s second-largest sector,” said CIRC spokeswoman Chandra Russo. “It’s a $3 million industry, and we really see immigrants as the backbone of the industry.”
For a Latino community often seen as living in the shadows of the Roaring Fork Valley, participants in the rally were visible and vocal on a cold Friday night, with steam escaping from their lips as they chanted. Many carried religious votives. Some carried signs in Spanish and English with messages like “Please America, open your heart” and “It’s Time.”
On the edge of the park, about a half-dozen protesters carried signs opposing immigration reform. One read, “Deport wetbacks.” Another read “Stop the invasion.”
“If this is going to continue, the white man is going to have to go to Canada,” said a man who identified himself only as Tom and said he lived in Glenwood Springs.
Another man, who identified himself only as Rusty and described himself as an out-of-work welder living in DeBeque, said he believed immigrants were responsible for lowering wages and taking away jobs from citizens. He said he opposed allowing immigrants who broke the law to become legal residents.
“I did my time,” he said. “Why give a criminal a break? If I was brown, I’d get a break.”
Cell phones glowed alongside candles as Gonzalez called on the crowd to dial the White House and urge President Barack Obama to follow through on his campaign pledge supporting immigration reform.
“We have the opportunity to change our lives,” she said. “We have the power to change our communities. We have the power to change the economy of this country.”
Rifle organizer Jorge Flores said immigration reform would have a big impact on area immigrants, many of whom are unable to buy homes because of their status and have families that they can’t visit.
“The candles, the light, is the path we want to create,” he said, “so maybe Washington can see.”
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/138229
Scary.