Immigrant rights activists join protests nationwide

[Mr. Dirlewanger]

Go home and take the Bolsheviks with you, thanks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/ap_on_re_us/immigration_protests

CHICAGO — Thousands of immigrants and activists gathered in cities across the country Thursday to demand comprehensive immigration reform, including citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.
 
Turnout has fallen sharply since the first nationwide rallies in 2006, when more than 1 million people — at least 400,000 in Chicago alone — flooded streets and brought traffic to a standstill.

Activists hoping to re-ignite the immigration debate in time for the presidential elections say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president.

Nevertheless, they planned to take to the streets from Miami to Dallas to Los Angeles for May Day protests.

"We come to let Washington know we're still here. We're still fighting," said Jorge Guzman, 34, as crowds swelled in Chicago's Union Park before a march to a federal plaza downtown.

Guzman, a legal immigrant from Mexico, was among a group of about 100 marchers from the Chicago suburb of Waukegan, where tension mounted after city officials applied for a federal program that would train local police to help enforce immigration laws.

He carried a giant hand-painted banner depicting a man being handcuffed by immigration agents and a little girl crying and saying, "Where is my family?" 

Immigration reform did not resonate with voters in primary elections who overwhelmingly cited the economy as their top concern. Immigration legislation has stalled and been defeated in the Senate, and presidential candidates have not extensively addressed the issues.

Democratic presidential rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supported a 2006 bill, sponsored by Republican candidate John McCain, that offered illegal immigrants legal status on conditions such as learning English. All three also have supported a border fence.

In Washington, D.C., immigrant rights groups and social justice organizations were demanding that Prince William County, in northern Virginia, rescind its anti-illegal immigration measure. They also want raids and deportations to end, and are calling for worker centers to be established in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

Activists also plan to deliver a letter to the Republican and Democratic national committees, asking the presidential candidates to enact immigration reform.

In Tucson, Ariz., a march organized by a coalition of immigrant advocate organizations and labor union locals was expected to address border and immigration issues, ethnic and racial justice and education, health care and jobs.

In Milwaukee, factory worker Miguel Tesillos, 29, was among hundreds who lined sidewalks waiting for the march to begin.

"Our people, we pay taxes, we pay the same as a citizen," said Tesillos, who has a Green Card. "Maybe the new president can see this point, and do something for us," he said.

In Chicago, as the crowd of about 1,000 marchers passed several union halls, union members came outside to cheer.

Margarita Klein, 48, of Chicago, a union organizer, noted that May 1 is International Workers' Day worldwide.

"It's a historic and significant day," Klein said. "Immigrants' rights are workers' rights. It's not two separate issues."

[they call me MR. GRUMPY god damn it!]

es el tiempo para estudiamos espanol?

[Mr. Dirlewanger]

es el tiempo para estudiamos espanol?

Nah, you will need to pick up a few words and phrases though. "Lawnmower", "weedwhacker", and "hey you", would be a great start.

[trex]

Yeah right....pay taxes ...thats what you do...They suck the system dry...and then whine!

GO HOME!

[trex]

Isn't it ironic that Americans have no priviledges or guaranteed rights in Mexico.  And that we have to negotiate with those corrupt pieces of feces to get a guy extradicted who cut up his dead girlfriend and set her on fire?

[Mr. Dirlewanger]

Isn't it ironic that Americans have no priviledges or guaranteed rights in Mexico.  And that we have to negotiate with those corrupt pieces of feces to get a guy extradicted who cut up his dead girlfriend and set her on fire?

The level of corruption in Mexico is such that it would make our more scandelous politicians blush.

[Vermouth]

I thought May Day was "Workers of the World Unite" and all that stuff. Now it's pro-immigration?

This is our own fault for having a weak immigration policy. Don't blame Mexicans for taking advantage.

Edit: Found this on Wiki ...
International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.

[gorknoids]

es el tiempo para estudiamos espanol?

Nah, you will need to pick up a few words and phrases though. "Lawnmower", "weedwhacker", and "hey you", would be a great start.

Hey!  I own a lawn care and landscaping company.  You need to be more specific.  The illegalistas know the difference between a Toro Z-320 and a Shindaiwa T270.  At least that's what those who employ illegalistas tell me. 

[Vermouth]

Hey!  I own a lawn care and landscaping company.  You need to be more specific.  The illegalistas know the difference between a Toro Z-320 and a Shindaiwa T270.  At least that's what those who employ illegalistas tell me. 

Toro is easy. It's already in Spanish.

[Mr. Dirlewanger]

I thought May Day was "Workers of the World Unite" and all that stuff. Now it's pro-immigration?

This is our own fault for having a weak immigration policy. Don't blame Mexicans for taking advantage.

Edit: Found this on Wiki ...
International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.

There hasn't been a good massacre in a while has there? No wonder these "progressives" are getting so cocky. 

[Lookout]

Cocky maybe, but they will never succeed. I have never seen a mexican do anything right the first time or at all for that matter. About the best they will achieve is plastering a flag and some nonsensical writing on the side of a building with duct tape right over a half assed manicured lawn!!!  LOL

[Vermouth]

The history is actually pretty interesting. May 1, 1886 was the day that American workers went on strike in support of the 8-hour work day.

On Saturday, May 1, rallies were held throughout the United States. There were an estimated 10,000 demonstrators in New York and 11,000 in Detroit. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin some 10,000 workers turned out. The movement's center was in Chicago, where an estimated 40,000 workers went on strike... Estimates of the total number of striking American workers range from 300,000 to half a million. (Wikipedia)

In the days that followed, tension between police and workers increased. Some workers were killed by police. On May 4, an anarchist threw a bomb at the police, sparking the massacre.

Of course, it was a great setback for the 8-hour workday. But hey, 52 years later...

Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his employees who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.

TITLE 29--LABOR, CHAPTER 8--FAIR LABOR STANDARDS, Sec. 207. Maximum hours

[Mr. Dirlewanger]

It's hard not to sympathize with the struggles of the working class 120 years ago but these sort of labor concerns are a thing of the past in the West. China and India, however, will experiencing quite a bit of internal disruption in the coming years.