Immigration rally turnout lower than '06
By SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 14 minutes ago
CHICAGO - Magda Ortiz believes a recent raid in a largely Mexican neighborhood of Chicago made people too afraid to march in an immigration rights rally, which drew far fewer protesters than turned out last year.
Ortiz, a 27-year-old legal resident from Mexico and mother of two, pushed through crowds on the city's lakefront with a stroller bearing a sign that read: "Bush, think about the moms. Stop the raids."
But if the raids kept some people away, organizers said, they drew out others who were determined to show they wouldn't be intimidated.
"If they had fear, they turned that fear into courage to come out and march," said Elias Bermudez, president of the activist group Inmigrantes Sin Fronteras, or Immigrants Without Borders, at a demonstration in Phoenix. About 15,000 people marched there, some with signs reading "Stop the roundups" or "The sleeping giant woke up forever."
A few dozen counter-protesters turned out, including George Propheter, who held up a large handwritten sign that read "Hell No."
"I want to send them back," he said. "I've been in the city for 40 years. They've completely destroyed our city."
In Chicago, where more than 400,000 swarmed the streets last year, police put initial estimates at 150,000, by far the country's largest turnout. In Los Angeles, where several hundred thousand turned out a year earlier, about 25,000 attended a downtown rally, said police Capt. Andrew Smith.
Protests were mostly peaceful, except for an evening rally at a park in Los Angeles, where several people threw rocks and bottles at police and at least person was arrested, Officer Mike Lopez said. Police fired rubber bullets and used batons to push the crowd out of the street and onto the sidewalk. An unknown number of officers and protesters were taken to the hospital with injuries, Lopez said.
March organizers had long predicted lower turnouts, blaming stepped-up raids, frustration that Congress hasn't passed immigration reform and an effort by many groups to shift their focus from street mobilizations to citizenship and voter registration drives.
"There's no reason a pro-immigration bill can't be passed. That's one of the messages being sent today," said Chicago protester Shaun Harkin, 34, of Northern Ireland, who has lived in the United States as a legal resident for 15 years.
Though fewer in number, protesters did show up in cities from Miami to Detroit to San Antonio. Many of those waving flags, chanting, and carrying hand-painted signs said they were frustrated by what they see as little progress.
"After working 22 years here, paying taxes and being a good citizen, I think it's fair they give me residency," said Los Angeles protester Manuel Hernandez, 38-year-old Mexican who along with his wife and two children is undocumented. "It's not fair we don't have documents."
Others were more optimistic.
"This could be a tipping point, where there will be legislation recognizing that laws on the books now are a mess and don't recognize reality," said Gordon Mayer, a vice president of the Community Media Workshop, which helped organize the Chicago march.
"Last year these people were defending themselves. This time they're going on the offensive," Manuel Rendon, 19, a U.S. citizen who lives in Frisco, Texas, said at a rally in Dallas.
After last year's marches, which drew a million-plus protesters, the Senate passed a sweeping bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for many of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants. But the bill was never reconciled with the then-Republican-controlled House, and legislation has languished since last summer. Subsequent bipartisan proposals have gotten more conservative.
Meanwhile, immigration raids and deportations are increasing.
In fiscal year 2006, federal immigration officials deported 195,024 people, compared with 173,363 the previous year, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data. Six months into the current fiscal year, 125,405 have been deported.
The raids included one last week at a discount mall in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood that resulted in charges against 22 people.
Democratic Party Chairman
Howard Dean' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Howard Dean told immigrant supporters in Miami that a reform bill currently before Congress was "insane" because it would require many illegal immigrants to return home before applying for citizenship.
"This is a government that can't find a 6-foot-4 terrorist. How is it going to find 12 million people?" he told a group of more than 100 party supporters at Parrot Jungle Island.
In New York, immigrants and their supporters added names to a painting of a tree meant to symbolize the American family and the crucial role of immigrants in U.S. history. People in the crowd then attached leaves containing names of relatives.
"These people are hardworking people," said Djounedou Titi, a West African immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for eight years. "They deserve credit. And the only credit this country can give to them is citizenship."
___
Associated Press writers Michael Tarm in Chicago, Peter Prengaman in Los Angeles, Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Amanda Lee Myers in Phoenix, Anabelle Garay in Dallas and Deepti Hajela in New York contributed to this report.
But if the raids kept some people away, organizers said, they drew out others who were determined to show they wouldn't be intimidated.
"If they had fear, they turned that fear into courage to come out and march," said Elias Bermudez, president of the activist group Inmigrantes Sin Fronteras, or Immigrants Without Borders, at a demonstration in Phoenix. About 15,000 people marched there, some with signs reading "Stop the roundups" or "The sleeping giant woke up forever."
A few dozen counter-protesters turned out, including George Propheter, who held up a large handwritten sign that read "Hell No."
"I want to send them back," he said. "I've been in the city for 40 years. They've completely destroyed our city."
In Chicago, where more than 400,000 swarmed the streets last year, police put initial estimates at 150,000, by far the country's largest turnout. In Los Angeles, where several hundred thousand turned out a year earlier, about 25,000 attended a downtown rally, said police Capt. Andrew Smith.
Protests were mostly peaceful, except for an evening rally at a park in Los Angeles, where several people threw rocks and bottles at police and at least person was arrested, Officer Mike Lopez said. Police fired rubber bullets and used batons to push the crowd out of the street and onto the sidewalk. An unknown number of officers and protesters were taken to the hospital with injuries, Lopez said.
March organizers had long predicted lower turnouts, blaming stepped-up raids, frustration that Congress hasn't passed immigration reform and an effort by many groups to shift their focus from street mobilizations to citizenship and voter registration drives.
"There's no reason a pro-immigration bill can't be passed. That's one of the messages being sent today," said Chicago protester Shaun Harkin, 34, of Northern Ireland, who has lived in the United States as a legal resident for 15 years.
Though fewer in number, protesters did show up in cities from Miami to Detroit to San Antonio. Many of those waving flags, chanting, and carrying hand-painted signs said they were frustrated by what they see as little progress.
"After working 22 years here, paying taxes and being a good citizen, I think it's fair they give me residency," said Los Angeles protester Manuel Hernandez, 38-year-old Mexican who along with his wife and two children is undocumented. "It's not fair we don't have documents."
Others were more optimistic.
"This could be a tipping point, where there will be legislation recognizing that laws on the books now are a mess and don't recognize reality," said Gordon Mayer, a vice president of the Community Media Workshop, which helped organize the Chicago march.
"Last year these people were defending themselves. This time they're going on the offensive," Manuel Rendon, 19, a U.S. citizen who lives in Frisco, Texas, said at a rally in Dallas.
After last year's marches, which drew a million-plus protesters, the Senate passed a sweeping bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for many of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants. But the bill was never reconciled with the then-Republican-controlled House, and legislation has languished since last summer. Subsequent bipartisan proposals have gotten more conservative.
Meanwhile, immigration raids and deportations are increasing.
In fiscal year 2006, federal immigration officials deported 195,024 people, compared with 173,363 the previous year, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data. Six months into the current fiscal year, 125,405 have been deported.
The raids included one last week at a discount mall in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood that resulted in charges against 22 people.
Democratic Party Chairman
Howard Dean' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Howard Dean told immigrant supporters in Miami that a reform bill currently before Congress was "insane" because it would require many illegal immigrants to return home before applying for citizenship.
"This is a government that can't find a 6-foot-4 terrorist. How is it going to find 12 million people?" he told a group of more than 100 party supporters at Parrot Jungle Island.
In New York, immigrants and their supporters added names to a painting of a tree meant to symbolize the American family and the crucial role of immigrants in U.S. history. People in the crowd then attached leaves containing names of relatives.
"These people are hardworking people," said Djounedou Titi, a West African immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for eight years. "They deserve credit. And the only credit this country can give to them is citizenship."
___
Associated Press writers Michael Tarm in Chicago, Peter Prengaman in Los Angeles, Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Amanda Lee Myers in Phoenix, Anabelle Garay in Dallas and Deepti Hajela in New York contributed to this report.
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