Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
Immigrants march in Phoenix, L.A. protest planned
Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:30 PM ET
PHOENIX (Reuters) - As many as 15,000 immigrants and supporters marched through Phoenix on Friday in the latest of a series of protests in major U.S. cities that seek to stop legislation seen as punitive to undocumented workers.
Los Angeles students also walked out of at least 20 county schools on Friday, protesting proposed extension of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, said a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson.
Some "hundreds of thousands" will march through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, one organizer predicted, while Chicago police on March 10 estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 rallied to protest tough changes in immigration law.
In Phoenix, marchers were peaceful but boisterous, said city police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill. About 400 rallied in Tucson.
"Immigrant communities and groups across the country are coming together to send a loud and clear message to decision makers in Washington D.C. that we are not the enemy but part of the solution," said Jennifer Allen, executive director of Border Action Network in Phoenix.
Many of the protesters have focused on a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December. That bill, sponsored by Republican Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, calls for tough border security and enforcement measures and would make it a federal crime, instead of a civil offense, for undocumented workers to live in the country.
It would also penalize people for helping illegal immigrants, drawing criticism in particular from church groups.
The U.S. Senate is set to take up immigration legislation next week. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, plans to bring to the floor similar border security and enforcement legislation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, is pushing his panel to draft legislation that would also create a temporary worker program and legalize some of the 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States.
Protesters such as Los Angeles march organizer Javier Rodriguez say the protests are to oppose Sensenbrenner's bill and press for legalization and citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States.
"It is a crusade to force the right-wing government to give us legalization, and we are not going to take anything less," he said. One marcher carried a sign with the slogan "The Sleeping Giant Woke Up," referring to the role of undocumented workers in American life.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman April Harding said a little more than 10,000 people were expected on Saturday.
The protests were part of rallies planned across the country in the next several days, with protests planned on April 10 in 10 cities.
On the other side of the political spectrum, a small group calling themselves the Minutemen, which began as an ad hoc organization patrolling a small section of the U.S.-Mexican border, is demanding enforcement of U.S. immigration law. It also opposes President George W. Bush's proposed guest-worker program.
Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:30 PM ET
PHOENIX (Reuters) - As many as 15,000 immigrants and supporters marched through Phoenix on Friday in the latest of a series of protests in major U.S. cities that seek to stop legislation seen as punitive to undocumented workers.
Los Angeles students also walked out of at least 20 county schools on Friday, protesting proposed extension of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, said a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson.
Some "hundreds of thousands" will march through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, one organizer predicted, while Chicago police on March 10 estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 rallied to protest tough changes in immigration law.
In Phoenix, marchers were peaceful but boisterous, said city police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill. About 400 rallied in Tucson.
"Immigrant communities and groups across the country are coming together to send a loud and clear message to decision makers in Washington D.C. that we are not the enemy but part of the solution," said Jennifer Allen, executive director of Border Action Network in Phoenix.
Many of the protesters have focused on a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December. That bill, sponsored by Republican Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, calls for tough border security and enforcement measures and would make it a federal crime, instead of a civil offense, for undocumented workers to live in the country.
It would also penalize people for helping illegal immigrants, drawing criticism in particular from church groups.
The U.S. Senate is set to take up immigration legislation next week. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, plans to bring to the floor similar border security and enforcement legislation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, is pushing his panel to draft legislation that would also create a temporary worker program and legalize some of the 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States.
Protesters such as Los Angeles march organizer Javier Rodriguez say the protests are to oppose Sensenbrenner's bill and press for legalization and citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States.
"It is a crusade to force the right-wing government to give us legalization, and we are not going to take anything less," he said. One marcher carried a sign with the slogan "The Sleeping Giant Woke Up," referring to the role of undocumented workers in American life.
Los Angeles police spokeswoman April Harding said a little more than 10,000 people were expected on Saturday.
The protests were part of rallies planned across the country in the next several days, with protests planned on April 10 in 10 cities.
On the other side of the political spectrum, a small group calling themselves the Minutemen, which began as an ad hoc organization patrolling a small section of the U.S.-Mexican border, is demanding enforcement of U.S. immigration law. It also opposes President George W. Bush's proposed guest-worker program.