Detroit Immigrant Rights March Draws Tens of
Thousands
Tens of thousands March for Immigrant
Rights in Detroit
From the Pan-African News Wire Monitoring Service
DETROIT,
March 27, 2006 (PANW)--Following the growing pattern around the United
States, tens of thousands of people marched from the southwest side of
Detroit to the federal building downtown calling for the defeat of an
anti-immigrant bill which would make felons out of 11 million people
inside the country.
Perhaps the largest protest involving the
Latino community in the history of Detroit, people of all ages took to
the streets to oppose the two anti-immigrant bills--one already passed
by the House--now being considered within the US Senate.
In Los
Angeles it was estimated that one million people demonstrated against
the bill on Saturday. On Monday tens of thousands of youth walked out
of school to illustrate their strong resistance to the anti-immigrant
legislation. Last week in Chicago 300,000 took to the streets for the
same cause.
According to activist and photojournalist Cheryl LaBash in Detroit, who
discussed today's demonstration in the city:
"For
three an a half miles immigrant rights marchers thronged the street
from curb to curb. From elders to babies in strollers the community
turned out. Some independent truckers shut down their rigs to walk the
march with their families. Thousands of youth received their education
in the street today instead of classrooms. Chanting and waving national
flags and homemade signs, the sleeping giant of the Latino immigrant
community referred to in several signs was clearly awakened by the
barbaric provisions of HR4437. One woman summarized HR4437 as
'legalizing racism.'"
"Councilwoman JoAnn Watson introduced a
resolution to the Detroit City Council today that 'supports and salutes
the marches for immigrants' rights, especially the march here in
Detroit'. The resolution further opposed federal legislation harmful to
the human rights of immigrants and supporting 'a humane, not racist
immigration system.' Although marchers were overwhelmingly Latinos,
significant numbers of Anglo and African American Detroiters joined in.
A demonstration was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan today as well.
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PANW
Editor's Note: The following article from the corporate media came
closest to estimating the crowd that demonstrated on March 27 from the
southwest side to downtown. The Detroit Free Press claimed that there
were 50,000 people in the march. However, the crowd appeared to be at
least twice that size. It stretched wide and deep along Michigan avenue
going all the way back to Vernor, the heart of the Latino community in
Detroit.
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LATINOS VOICE OPPOSITION: Thousands
protest immigration proposal
They oppose a hard-line plan on
illegal workers
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 28, 2006
Myra
Daniela Rodriguez, 4, of Westland stands on the shoulders of her
father, Rodrigo Rodriguez, at the rally Monday on West Lafayette.
Waving
flags, toting babies and chanting "Si, se puede," which means, "Yes, we
can," a mostly Latino throng marched Monday in one of the largest
political rallies Detroit has seen in recent years, protesting proposed
legislation in Congress to mark illegal immigrant workers and anyone
who supports them as criminals.
"It's not right," said one of
the marchers, 27-year-old Manuel Negrete of Lincoln Park, who works in
landscaping. "The Latinos in this country, we came to work. We came to
this country for opportunity."
Beginning in front of Holy
Redeemer Catholic Church in the heart of Mexicantown in southwest
Detroit, the march forced many businesses to close as employees took to
the streets. Detroit Police put the number of protesters at more than
50,000.
While some said that was an exaggeration, there was no
doubt that thousands of marchers made the trek to the McNamara Federal
Building in downtown Detroit -- where protesters chanted "Justica," or
"Justice" -- before moving on to a rally outside WDIV-TV (Channel 4),
where speakers railed against the proposal.
Similar rallies were
held Monday in Grand Rapids and Washington, D.C., following others
across the country during the weekend. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary
Committee stripped the legislation of criminal penalties for residents
found in the United States illegally and opened the door for millions
of undocumented workers to seek citizenship.
In downtown
Detroit, protesters included undocumented and legal immigrants, as well
as U.S.-born citizens. Many hailed from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and
El Salvador and waved the flags of their homelands or the United States.
The
number of marchers made for a vivid testament to the growth of the
Latino community in Michigan and across the nation. According to U.S.
census estimates, Michigan's Hispanic community grew by nearly 11% to
359,111 people from 2000 to 2004.
The Pew Hispanic Center in
Washington D.C. said Michigan is home to between 100,000 and 150,000
illegal immigrants. In metro Detroit, as they do nationwide, they find
work in a range of jobs -- making their livings as busboys, cooks,
farmworkers,
landscapers and on construction sites, for example.
Advocates say undocumented immigrants can find work because they're
willing to work hard for low wages.
Negrete, a man born in
Mexico who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, and other immigrants at the
rally said they work hard, pay taxes and contribute much to America.
"People
came here to make a living," said Alfredo Velazquez, 31, a truck driver
from Detroit, born and raised in the city. "They're not taking away
from anything."
What concerned Velazquez was that, under the
legislation, he could be charged with a felony for helping a friend,
family member or anyone else who might be here illegally. In many U.S.
cities, including Detroit, where undocumented immigrants are part of
the community, such a law would be unfair, he said.
"This seems pretty harsh," Velazquez said, as the crowed marched down
Michigan Avenue past Tiger Stadium.
Religious
groups played a major part in the rally: Under the bill as it was
passed by the House, churches and social service groups would be
criminalized for helping needy immigrants who are here illegally.
One
local Catholic priest, the Rev. Thomas Sepulveda, pastor of Detroit's
St. Anne Church, was in Washington, D.C., on Monday, lobbying U.S.
senators to reject the proposed bills."We're doing jobs that other
Americans don't want to do," said Oscar Carlito, 22, a student at Wayne
Student University, as he marched with his fraternity brothers.
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 248-351-2998 or nwarikoo@freepress.com. The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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