Illegal Alien Unrest

[Ryan Ruck]

Latinos Seek Larger Movement

On the eve of demonstrations by Latinos in more than 60 cities Monday, protest organizers said they will strive to transform momentum over the immigration controversy into a lasting civil rights movement that unifies the nation's largest minority population.

They face the challenge of appealing to a population divided economically, racially and by national origin, one that has yet to produce the visible leadership characteristic of civil rights movements.

Organizers say they expect as many as 180,000 people for a demonstration on the National Mall, partly because of frustration over the congressional impasse on immigration legislation.

"Our challenge is to transform this massive movement of people in the streets into a massive movement of people to the polls," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, where a demonstration last month drew more than 500,000 people. "Ultimately in a democracy, your influence depends on putting people in power to represent your interests."

If political power comes to a population now estimated at more than 40 million -- hailing from more than 20 countries -- it will come gradually.

Only 40 percent of U.S. Latinos are eligible to vote, according to a recent study by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California, and fewer than half of those vote regularly. One-third of Latinos are too young to vote. And an estimated 27 percent are old enough but are noncitizens or illegal immigrants.

Although legal changes would affect immigrants from all countries, a wave of Latino protest coalesced after the House passed legislation that would make illegal immigration a felony and penalize those who employed such immigrants. Apparent agreement on a Senate compromise that would have opened a path to citizenship for millions in the country illegally collapsed Friday under the weight of election-year politics.

"A community that had essentially been trying to remain invisible suddenly concluded that their invisibility was only making them more vulnerable," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which advocates expanding immigrant rights.

But Sharry said activism could be undermined if legislation similar to the Senate proposal becomes law.

"I suspect a lot people will start busying themselves with getting on the path to legal permanent residence, and that could take the political momentum out of" the movement, Sharry said.

The cycle of success followed by complacency has played out during several previous waves of Latino activism, most recently in California during the 1990s. In 1994, when voters there adopted Proposition 187, denying some public benefits to illegal immigrants, many Latinos perceived the move as a personal attack by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. Mass demonstrations were followed by a surge in voter registration and political activism by Latinos.

Two successive Democratic candidates were swept into the governor's mansion, and the state became a reliable voter for Democratic presidential candidates.

Once the sense of crisis abated, fewer California Latinos turned out to vote. In the 2002 general election, for example, Latinos represented 17 percent of registered voters but 10 percent of those who voted.

Organizers of the demonstrations set for Monday said they plan to counter the pattern by convening a national conference in June, probably in Milwaukee, to craft an agenda that carries the movement beyond a single legislative goal.

"We're going to be talking about what a pro-immigration platform looks like and how to maintain it," said Kimberly Propeack, advocacy director for CASA of Maryland, an immigrant-rights group.

Many Latino leaders say that whatever the fate of their movement in the short run, their success over the long term is virtually guaranteed by the millions of U.S.-born Latinos who will turn 18 over the next decade.

The most lasting impact of the demonstrations might be the passion they ignite among the young people who participate, said Antonio Gonzalez, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, which has registered millions of Latino voters.

"The way you get youth to vote is to have a sort of revolution, an evil enemy to fight," he said. "That has just been handed to us by" the Republicans.

[Ryan Ruck]

Up To 500,000 Marchers Converge On Downtown Dallas, TX

Peaceful protest pleases chief

At a police security briefing that ended about 3:15 p.m., Dallas police Chief David Kunkle reported that no one had been arrested and no noteworthy offenses had been committed amid the crowd that was widely estimated at 100,000.

Speculation put the crowd at up to 500,000, although police had no comment on that number.

“It’s been a very good day for the city,” Chief Kunkle said. “This is a family-oriented group that’s come here to demonstrate. No one we saw looked like they were planning to cause any problems.”

Chief Kunkle attributed the peaceful nature of the protest to the work of the volunteers and organizers, as well as police efforts to marginalize the small groups of counterprotesters.

“Even I’m surprised about the nature of the crowd. I think the people have been educated to ignore the other protesters,” he said.

Chief Kunkle reiterated his estimate that 550 police and 200 sheriff’s officers were on duty. Although no additional backups were called Sunday, supervisors were asking early shift officers to stay a few hours later, and calling the evening shift workers to arrive early.

Police work around the city would not be affected, he said.

Some counterprotesters retreat

Police told counterprotesters that they could protect them only to a point, and offered to escort them out through an underground parking lot. Six people left with police who were carrying shields and wearing helmets and shin pads.

Miles Walters, 16, a sophomore at Richardson High School, said he was scared when people started throwing water bottles and hunkered under a building for protection. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad,” he said. “Because we take pride in our country they hate us and call us racist.”

Yep, reeeaaalllll peaceful. Kind of like those "peace protestors"!

[Ryan Ruck]

St. Paul, MN March For Immigration Reform Is Largest At The Statehouse Since A Sept. 11 Memorial

Thousands of immigrants packing a rally Sunday at the state Capitol in St. Paul couldn't even hear the speeches. But the message came through loud and clear: We are hard-working Americans, not criminals.

"If we are coming here, it is because we're looking for better lives," said Juan Carlos Anaya of St. Paul, who came to the rally with his wife, Norma, and their three children. "We're peaceful people. We're honest people. And we're helping the economy grow."

Police estimated the crowd at 30,000, making the rally the largest gathering at the Capitol since a memorial service after the Sept. 11 attacks drew about 35,000 people.

The march was part of national campaign that continues today. Organizers are expecting the two days of rallies to draw more than 2 million people in 120 cities. They are urging Congress and President Bush to adopt laws that would legalize an estimated 11 million undocumented workers. In Dallas on Sunday, a crowd police estimated at more than 350,000 marched through downtown streets.

In St. Paul, police said the march was a peaceful family affair. Parents, babies in strollers and teenagers were among the throngfilling the stretch of John Ireland Boulevard from the St. Paul Cathedral to the Capitol.

Even as the march began, traffic backed up on Interstate 94 as streets clogged with buses and cars seeking places to park. Organizers said more than 60 buses brought marchers from several Minnesota and western Wisconsin cities, including Worthington, Owatonna, Austin and Rochester.

Supporters carried U.S. flags side-by-side with those of Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina and other nations. Signs and T-shirts proclaimed, "I am a worker, not a criminal" and "I am a taxpayer."

Archbishop Harry Flynn bolstered the Catholic Church's calls for activism in support of illegal immigrants by urging the audience to defy laws that would penalize charitable groups for helping illegal immigrants. Minnesotans, he said, should answer to a higher law of human dignity.

"Let them throw us all in jail," he said.

The Minnesota Immigration with Dignity March was supported by a coalition of church, labor and community groups, along with immigrant leaders and students.

Speakers included Hmong and African immigrants, but the majority of the speakers and crowd were Latin American. The day emphasized family reunification and comprehensive reform.

Many in the audience had their own immigration stories to tell, about themselves or their parents or their next-door neighbors. A key goal for them is to see laws that would make it easier for families to visit back and forth across international borders. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, residents of Mexico and Central and South America said, their relatives have waited years to obtain tourist visas for two-week visits.

Anaya questioned why tourists from other countries are allowed easy passage to and from the United States, but his relatives from El Salvador are not. He said he and his wife, Norma, have not seen their parents in six years.

"We are not terrorists," he said. "We're Latino, but we're Americans, too — Central America. The American people are all one."

Fatiha Ahmed of Minneapolis fled violence in East Africa, but in the confusion of battle became separated from two of her four children. She has not heard any news on the fate of her son, who would now be 11. Her daughter Hanuna, 19, is hospitalized in Africa, and Ahmed longs to see her. But Hanuna cannot come to the United States, and Ahmed cannot return to Africa.

"I need immigration laws to help me see my daughter," she said, weeping.

A number of attendees attacked current measures before Congress as piecemeal and likely to increase the victimization of illegal workers. Each change in the law has a cascading effect through businesses, schools and communities and needs to be part of a well-thought-out plan, said Alberto Puga of Richfield.

Even amnesty can backfire if not part of a larger comprehensive plan, said Puga, a former migrant farm worker in California.

"I remember the amnesty of 1989," he said. "The growers paid even less because so many people were coming here. Pay dropped from $5.50 to $3 an hour."

The message lawmakers should take from Sunday's and today's marches, one woman said, is entrenched in the idea that the United States was, and still is, a land of opportunity.

"People who aren't as lucky as me should have the same opportunity," said Luz Mendoza, 40, of Minnetonka, who was adopted by U.S. parents when she was 13. "They've been here a long time, and they're good workers. They can bring a lot to this country, like we do."

[Ryan Ruck]

If Minutemen Are Vigilantes, What Do You Call 500,000 Illegal Aliens Demanding Rights?

When the Minutemen set up shop at the Arizona border last year to call attention to the illegal alien loophole in US Homeland Security, President Bush foolishly chided these brave patriots by calling them vigilantes. Although chagrined at being deserted by the man who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to defend our borders, the Minutemen dug in their heels and persisted. And persisted.

Their Yankee determination to do the right thing was rewarded when President Bush finally sent additional border patrol agents to Arizona. Even the Mexican government was motivated to pay greater attention, at least temporarily, because of the due diligence of heroic Minutemen.

Before the Minuteman took their courageous stand, open border advocates and anti-American liberals insisted it was “impossible” to stop illegal immigration. Best to just accept reality, learn Spanish, and switch to rice and beans as food stables, according to the leftists and Hispanic racists.

Thank God, the Minutemen PROVED illegal aliens CAN be stopped, thereby delivering a great victory on behalf of all American citizens.

Now, with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and advocates taking over the streets of American cities and demanding rights they are not entitled to, where in the hell is our alleged President?

How is that a few hundred retired seniors with lawn chairs and cell phones are vigilantes, while 500,000 people with no legal or moral basis for being here are able to romp through Los Angeles and Dallas, without so much as a peep from Mr. Bush?

Does Mr. Bush even understand that America is on the brink of civil war? Must violence and bloodshed erupt before this president secures the borders and takes appropriate actions to remove those here illegally?

[Ryan Ruck]

Immigration Rally Planned In Toledo, Ohio

Ohio's protests over proposed changes to federal policies involving immigration rules have been relatively small compared to those in other states.

But that could change next week when a rally in support of immigrants' rights is held at Toledo's Golden Rule Park.

Beatriz Maya of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a Toledo-based union representing more than 10,000 migrant farm workers mainly in Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina, said the noon rally is being dubbed March for Justice.

Sister Rita Mary Harwood of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland said federal lawmakers need to adopt legislation that will give migrant workers a chance to legally stay in the United States with an opportunity for citizenship.

"They're contributing to the economy, and they are paying taxes. They're not getting a free ride,'' said Harwood. "These are people who are taking great risks because they want to feed their families.''

Harwood's office of parish life and development includes ministry to migrants and refugees.

Some estimates put the number of undocumented workers -- from countries such as Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua -- as high as 190,000 in Ohio alone.

Ohio's migrant workers are employed at places such as dairy farms, construction sites and meat-processing plants.

[Ryan Ruck]

Scuffle Breaks Out At Arizona Immigration Rally

A scuffle that broke out after counter-protestors torched a Mexican flag at Armory Park resulted in four or five people being taken into custody by Tucson police.

Police initially detained a young Hispanic woman in the wake of the flag burning and were escorting the woman to the Police Department’s downtown headquarters as a group of protestors followed.

The confrontation escalated when one man tried to break through a ring of officers surrounding the woman and he and several others were also detained.

About 11 people calling themselves the Border Guardians gathered at Armory park to burn a Mexican flag, a protest similar to one the group had Sunday in front of the Mexican consulate in Tucson.

The Border Guardians were surrounded by police as well as marchers, who locked their arms together with their backs to the counter-protesters and implored the massive crowd to ignore the burning.

An estimated 10,000 marchers had arrived at the Downtown park about noon Monday, where they were met by fewer than a dozen counter-protesters carrying anti-immigrant signs.

Specially trained crowd controllers wearing yellow armbands urged the crowd to remain peaceful, as it has been all morning.

More than 460 rows of marchers, each row at least 25 abreast, filled the streets on the route from a South Side church to Downtown, part of a nationwide protest against proposed legislation that would make it a felony for illegal immigrants to be in the United States.

Meanwhile, Tucson Unified School District reported 8,000 students, or about 13 percent of its student body, were absent Monday. That’s far more absences than usual, school officials said, but they couldn’t immediately say how many are typical on a Monday. TUSD also counted at least 520 classroom teachers out Monday, but says it was able to cover most classes with substitute teachers.

The march began at the corner of South 12th Avenue and Ajo Way, at St. John’s Catholic Church. From there, marchers streamed down 12th to 10th Avenue and on to Armory Park. At the park, speakers took the stage, leading protestors in chants and song.

Jacob Ruiz, 32, A U.S.-born Hispanic who carried a Mexican and American flag sewn together back-to-back so both were displayed, said he was marching to show his support for immigrant rights. “They build America one house at a time, one wall at a time,” said the draftsman. “Their work is permanent and so should their residency."

Debbie McQueen stood across the street from Armory Park holding a sign that said “No to Amnesty.” Someone tossed a couple of water bottles at her and a companion, but neither was hit.

McQueen said, “I’m here as an American citizen, not to protest, but to have my opinion heard as well.”

Among the marchers was Miguel Santos Nunez, 39, from Mexico, who has lived in Tucson five years, working in construction carpentry, while his wife and three children still live in Mexico. His boss gave him the day off to march, he said, and he hopes that the marches "some way or another pressure the legislators."

Many of the signs protested the legislation, HR 4437. Activist groups handed out American flags, white T-shirts and water bottles to the marchers, who hoisted signs with messages including "This is what America looks like,” “We are workers, not criminals” and "We march today, we vote tomorrow."

Some people carried Mexican flags, but those were far outnumbered by the Stars and Stripes on display. Two protesters had sewn an American flag and a Mexican flag together, which they carried as a banner. Mingled in with the crowd were some parents pushing toddlers in strollers.

Liz Macias, 29, who took the day off from her job at a real estate company, marched with her son Carlos Cuestas, 10, a Davis Bilingual Elementary school student. She said she was marching because she wants her son “to understand what his family has gone through to better themselves.”

Her son said he felt missing a day of school was worthwhile because “what I learned today is that it’s right to fight for your rights — and what you can do about it and how.”

Also in the crowd was Matt Hogel, 30, a middle school teacher at the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. The U.S. Navy veteran, who described himself as a Republican, said, “I wanted to show my support and appreciation for the immigrant working community here in the country. Whatever they are getting out of our country, we are getting tenfold from them, and people need to understand that.”

At about 10th Street, north of Pueblo High School, a lone counter- protestor who declined to identify himself held up a sign reading “Illegal? No rights.” As the marchers passed Pueblo High School, some students left campus to join them.

Other students were already taking part in the day’s protests. Shortly after 9 a.m., a group of 200 students walked off of the campus of Tucson High School near North Euclid Avenue and East Sixth Street, headed toward Downtown.

Carolina and Daniel Villascuesa accompanied their children, Joe and Antoinette Tafoya, both Tucson High students, to the federal courthouse. “I’ve always been a silent advocate,” said Carolina, but after talking to her children about immigration issues, she and her husband decided that they had to join them in the march. Roughly 1,500 of Tucson High Magnet School’s 2,600 students were absent this morning and 200 more walked off campus.

At Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School, 500 W. St. Mary's Road, the entire faculty of 16 was absent. But with only 30 students at the school, substitutes were able to cover.

In neighboring Sunnyside Unified School District, teacher absences were down today, but more than 1,600 students were absent.

And at Amphitheater High School, things went on as normal with no usually high teacher or student absences reported.

Star reporters Brady McCombs, Tom Beal, Daniel Scarpinato and Lourdes Medrano contributed to this report.

[Ryan Ruck]

Counter Protester Assaulted At Portland, Maine Immigration Rally

Witnesses reported that a teenager wearing a bandana hit a counter-protester on the head at Monument Square. The victim fell to the ground bloodied, and was taken away by an ambulance before the demonstration officially began.

The victim was one of about three people carrying signs arguing that illegals have no rights and should be deported.

After the assault, about 200 people gathered to peacefully voice support for reforms that would legalize an estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants.

One of the organizers, Portland attorney Rafael Galvez, says people will remember how members of Congress vote. He says lawmakers have before them an opportunity to be either "compassionate or cruel."

[Ryan Ruck]

Thousands Of Protesters To March Through Downtown Houston, TX

Thousands of Houstonians are expected to take part in a protest on Monday against a controversial immigration bill.

The "March of Dignity" is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Guadalupe Plaza on South Jensen Drive at Navigation Boulevard in northeast Houston. From there, demonstrators will walk to Allen's Landing on Main Street at Commerce Street in downtown Houston. The march is expected to reach Allen's Landing, where a rally will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., some time after 2 p.m.

Participants gathered early to organize their thoughts, chants and banners in anticipation of what is expected to be Houston's largest immigration rally yet.

"I'm expecting to see something pretty amazing. A few weeks ago when the students were organizing the marches, it was really incredible. This is a national day of action, so it's going to be very exciting here today," participant Annica Gorham told KPRC Local 2.

Many of the people involved in the march are the immigrant workers who are the subject of the debate. Some participants said their employers gave them the day off to join in the rally.

"Even some employers who have called us, like one construction company owned by a Latino businessman, gave the day off to 150 workers," Central Americans Resource Center member Maria Jimenez said.

Organizers have discouraged students from participating in the protests. However, some students said their parents gave them permission to attend.

Marches, rallies and protests were scheduled across Texas on Monday calling for Congress to legalize an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

Rallies were also planned for Monday in El Paso, Austin and elsewhere in Texas, including an estimated 2,000 protesters at a morning rally in Tyler.

[Ryan Ruck]

Here We Go Again

By Michelle Malkin

  Â·   April 09, 2006 10:47 PM

***scroll for updates***

They're baaack. Illegal alien public relations experts are advising their followers to put aside the Mexican flags and tone down their radicalism, but many reconquistadors and their friends can't help themselves. Hat tip to John A. for the protest photos today from Dallas:

Black Panthers came out to show solidarity with the open borders lobby...

And the Che cultists were out in full force again, too...

There's no photo, but the Dallas Morning News described this:

Although the stars and stripes predominated, some people opted to paint themselves in red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. A girl no older than 6 had her shirt painted: “Hell, no, we won’t go. Mexicans stick together.”

And via Yahoo!:

Similar sentiments at the anti-immigration enforcement rally in St. Paul, Minn.:

St. Louis:

The Dallas Morning News also reported that counter-protesters were assaulted and forced to leave under police protection:

Police told counterprotesters that they could protect them only to a point, and offered to escort them out through an underground parking lot. Six people left with police who were carrying shields and wearing helmets and shin pads.

“They’re obviously outnumbered here. If they choose to leave, we can arrange that,” said Dallas police Lt. William Humphrey.

Miles Walters, 16, a sophomore at Richardson High School, said he was scared when people started throwing water bottles and hunkered under a building for protection. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad,” he said. “Because we take pride in our country they hate us and call us racist.”

More:

A small group of counterprotesters shouted from a parking lot at Ross Avenue and Harwood Street: “USA, USA, You’re gonna go home, you’re gonna go home.”

Said Elijah McGrew, 48: “They are breaking the law and no one should get amnesty. If I break the law, I don’t get amnesty.”

Also in the group was Ben Blewusi, who said he came to the U.S. legally from Ghana in 2004.

“Illegal immigration is a crime in every country. I believe they are a drain on the economy and don’t pay taxes, and employers take advantage of them and enslave their labor. And as a result it drives down wages for legal migrants and U.S. citizens,” Mr. Blewusi said.

Near City Hall, more than 100 chanting protesters broke off from the main march and headed toward another group of counterprotesters. Police moved in around the counterprotesters, some of whom had hurled plastic water bottles at the large procession.

If you are holding a counter-protest, send your photos and I'll post them.

Tony J. attended a pro-immigration enforcement rally along with a few hundred in Denver on Friday:

I'll be covering the illegal alien demonstration tomorrow in Washington, D.C. Power Line is soliciting video from citizen journalists across the country.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on what government school officials are doing in your neighborhood.

In Tuscon:

The superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District is under fire for sending school buses to pick up student following an immigration reform protest.

But Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer defended his decision, saying police asked for the buses because a crowd of students in front of the Federal Building in Tucson was growing, water supplies were low and the temperatures were rising.

Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, criticized Pfeuffer in a letter, asking for an explanation of the busing issue.

Paton also wanted to know about a student assembly at Tucson High Magnet School in which Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said, "Republicans hate Latinos."

Paton said he wanted to find out if the assembly was mandatory, and he criticized district officials for allowing "political propaganda."

Pfeuffer said the assembly was not connected with recent walkouts by students protesting for immigration reform and said Huerta's appearance was part of a series of events commemorating Cesar Chavez Day held each year.

Yesterday, I noted my home county's decision to give school credit to students who attend the April 10 illegal alien event in D.C. Here's contact info for the Montgomery County Board of Education:

boe-at-fc.mcps.k12.md.us

Also watch your city officials. Some people are acting as if sanctuary extremists like the politicians in San Francisco are something new:

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Thursday that The City will not comply with any federal legislation that criminalizes efforts to help illegal immigrants.

The mayor also denounced a bipartisan congressional proposal that would beef up border security and allow as many as 12 million illegal immigrants to gain legal status.

Newsom, who has not been afraid to wade into controversial national issues such as gay marriage, appeared with a group of elected officials on the steps of City Hall to support immigrants, “documented as well as undocumented.”Newsom also signed a resolution sponsored by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, and passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, urging San Francisco law enforcement not to comply with criminal provisions of any new immigration bill.

Nothing new about it at all:

9/13/02 - Malkin column - End sanctuary for illegal immigrants
About that elevator guy
Sanctuary’ Laws Stand in Justice’s Way - Heather Mac Donald

Special Order 40 - Heather Mac Donald
The Other Wall - Michelle Malkin Senate testimony
The Illegal Alien Crime Wave - Heather Mac Donald
Illegal Alien Sanctuary - Front Page magazine

[Ryan Ruck]

Illegal Alien Protests: Trading Mexican Flags for American Flags

The first protests by illegal aliens and their supporters were met with quite a bit of anger from the American voter. Besides the obvious reasons of border security and law breakers demanding amnesty, the vast majority of the marchers carried Mexican flags.



Few carried American flags and many that did turned the American flag upside down. That did not play well, so organizers will try a new gimmick for Monday's march.

Protest organizers have now demanded that the marchers leave their Mexican flags at home and now carry the American flag. Fox News is reporting that in Phoenix one woman showed up with a Mexican flag - but she was forced to put that away due to the new tactic by the protest organizers to sanitize the event.

Is this nothing more than a PR ruse? Probably.

The marchers from weeks earlier were adamant that their allegiance was first to Mexico. The message from those marchers was clear - we are in America to make money - use American services and perks - but the allegiance would first be Mexico.

That hasn't changed in two weeks.

Now organizers reportedly are telling their Mexican flag toting protesters to use American flags as a prop to gain some sort of support from the tens of millions of American TV viewers that were turning on the movement with each Mexican flag and pro Mexican sign that was shown on their screens and in photos on the Internet.

Is it a wise move - absolutely. Is it genuine - doubtful.

[Ryan Ruck]

José, Can't You See? Communist Linked Groups Push For More San Antonio Student Walkouts

Political Agitators Planning For Monday Disturbances, Including Area City School Walkouts, Leading Up To Rally Downtown

San Antonio School kids have become political pawns in the rarely mentioned, but always present, socialist/communist agenda; and they apparently are so under or miss-educated that they have fallen for the "Che Guevara Look," simply because he has a cool picture with a snazzy beret.

Most do not even know Che's Argentine origin, thinking, instead, that he was Mexican.

Meanwhile, the communist/socialist spawn are revving up their Marxist engines to use our kids, public schools and the immigration debate, as ways to indoctrinate the under-educated or overly-intimidated in the ways of Marx and Lenin.

Don't believe it?

Check the organizations listed below (Google) that are backing a "Freedom Rally" set for Monday. (Click flyer to enlarge.)



The above was brought to you by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, which survives by sucking tax money out of a cowed and complacent City Council.

Other things you didn't know, but which the Lightning has learned:

Councilwomen Elena Guajardo and Patti Radle are enlisting their "secret armies" of gay/La Raza followers to "pack" the so called Rally on Monday.

Though the event is planned for 5PM, students in many schools are being quietly urged to leave classes "after 10AM" to bring more publicity and attention to their cause.

Suggested apparel? Berets and/or red shirts. Watch for these signs.

Could it all get very ugly?

Yes.

Yes, it could.

More to follow.

- Developing –

[Ryan Ruck]

Well, I guess that is what happens when you aren't citizens of the US that get to enjoy the 1st Amendment!

March Will Cost Organizers A Minimum Of $50K

Leaders with the city of Fort Myers and Lee County are trying to determine how much "The Great March" cost taxpayers. The city of Fort Myers attorney sent a letter to organizers on Friday stating they would be responsible for all costs involved in the event. The organizers say they shouldn't have to pay because they have a right to protest. For just the city of Fort Myers' overtime costs, the bill is $50,630.

On Friday, the Fort Myers city attorney sent a letter to Luis Ibarra, Director of the United Latin Immigrants of Florida as well as the Mexican Consulate in Miami.

The letter stated, "The city is unaware if you have taken any steps to provide for the event and therefore will incur significant taxpayer dollars to provide what the organizers of the event are supposed to provide. As a result, the city will be seeking reimbursement for these services and will hold your organization responsible to the greatest extent of the law."

Ibarra says he never received the letter and it's the first he's heard about the possibility of receiving a bill for the march.

"We are a non profit organization and we shouldn't have to pay anything to anyone. This is freedom of speech and we have the right to protest and march as immigrants. Who says we have to pay? That's ridiculous," said Ibarra.

The city says it doesn't matter if they are non-profit organization or a corporation. Any organization that holds an event of this size, permitted or not, needs to provide for basic services.

The city of Fort Myers estimates overtime costs alone will run $50,630. That doesn't include vehicle costs, food, water or equipment. They are at least one week from having final numbers.

Lee County says it will be weeks before they will know how much the march cost.

Here is an excerpt from the Fort Myers ordinance regarding processions:

Sec. 17-117. Permit required; fees.
No parade or procession upon any street of the city and no open-air public meetings upon any public property shall be permitted unless a special permit shall first be obtained. Any person desiring a permit under this section shall make written application to the chief of police or some duly authorized member of the police department. Permits issued under this section shall be printed or written, duly signed by the chief of police or some duly authorized member of the police department after approval and shall specify the day, hour, place and purpose of such parade, procession or open-air public meeting. The fee for such permit shall be five dollars ($5.00) if the activity permitted requires no extra policing or will cause no extra cost or expense to the city. If such activity will require additional policing or supervision or otherwise incur additional cost and expense to the city, there shall be charged such fee as will defray such additional cost to be determined by the chief of police.
(Code 1963, § 32-1)

[Ryan Ruck]

An interesting picture:

[Ryan Ruck]

Marches Coast To Coast

At Power Line News Video, you can find the video (with photographs) of the "marches of the illegals" around the country on Monday. Assembled and edited by Joe Malchow and John, it is a powerful, unsettling, thought-provoking document. John comments on the video here. Please check it out.

See Below For John's Comments:

Yesterday's Demonstrations, From Coast to Coast

As an exercise in citizen journalism, we put out a call to readers to attend yesterday's demonstrations in support of illegal immigration, film them, and send us the resulting video. We didn't know what to expect, but the results were gratifying. We got lots of submissions, both of video and photographs. As a result, we've put together a Power Line Video of yesterday's rallies, from Seattle to Washington, D.C., which you can watch here.

We intended this as an experiment to see whether this type of citizen journalism can work; our conclusion is that it certainly can. We also learned valuable lessons that will help us do this more effectively next time.

What conclusions do I draw from the materials we received? You can judge for yourself, but I would make two broad observations. First, notwithstanding mainstream media accounts that portray the turnout as vast, most of the rallies struck me as of modest size. The flagship demonstrations were pretty big; most of the others looked small to me.

Second, despite the blowback against the display of Mexican flags two weeks ago, and the distribution of American flags by leaders of some of the demonstrations, many of the demonstrators are still defiant about carrying the flags of Mexico and other Latin American countries and displaying radical slogans and images, thereby undercutting the "all-American" image of the rallies that most of the mainstream media worked hard to present.

This point can be made strongly by focusing on yesterday's demonstration in New York, and considering its coverage in the New York Times. The Times reported on the nationwide rallies here in a story that was almost entirely positive. The large photo that leads the story shows a sea of American flags, while the Times' story begins:

Waving American flags and blue banners that read "We Are America," throngs of cheering, chanting immigrants and their supporters converged on the nation's capital and in scores of other cities on Monday calling on Congress to offer legal status and citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants. The demonstrators marched under mostly clear blue skies with Spanish-language music blaring, street vendors selling ice cream and parents clinging to mischievous toddlers and the banners of their homelands.

Check out the portion of our video that shows the demonstration in Washington, and see how well it matches this cheery description of "street vendors" and "mischievous toddlers." And, of course, all those Mexican and Honduran flags aren't intended to be belligerent, they're just "banners of their homelands."

The Times covers the demonstration that took place in the paper's own city here. Again, the paper's coverage is entirely positive, although it implicitly acknowledges that turnout in New York was disappointing. The Times notes the presence of Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, who addressed the rally, but it makes no comment at all on who organized the demonstration.

In fact, as our video shows, the New York demonstration (like those in some other cities) was organized and controlled in substantial part by International A.N.S.W.E.R., the Communist organization that we have written about many times, most recently here. A.N.S.W.E.R.'s National Coordinator, Brian Becker, was prominent at the New York rally; he is the man in the blue shirt on the right in the photo below. Click to enlarge:

Note A.N.S.W.E.R.'s large "amnesty" banner with the words "Full Rights For All Immigrants!" as well as the Che Guevara banner.

International A.N.S.W.E.R. passed out thousands of mass-produced, yellow and black signs with exactly the same message. You can see them prominently displayed in our video footage from New York. Here, though, is what I think is even more interesting. At either of the two New York Times pages linked above, you can also link to the Times' own video of the New York demonstration. Take a look at it.

Look at the sea of yellow and black, International A.N.S.W.E.R. signs. They vastly outnumber all other signs and banners. They are the dominant visual image of the New York demonstration. It is inconceivable that the Times' reporters could have failed to note the prominent role played by A.N.S.W.E.R. in running the demonstration, or the dominant role played by that group in equipping the protesters with signs. Yet the organization's role was not acknowledged by the Times, or, to my knowledge, by any other newspaper. Why? The Times' reporters were obviously aware of A.N.S.W.E.R.'s prominent involvement, and thirty seconds' worth of research would have disclosed the fact that the group is an unabashedly Communist organization. It wouldn't have taken much more than that to learn that A.N.S.W.E.R.'s National Coordinator has said that illegal immigration can be the "catalyst for a broader class struggle, even possibly a revolutionary struggle."

Now, I'm not suggesting that most of those who carried A.N.S.W.E.R.'s signs in yesterday's demonstrations sympathize with, or are even aware of, that group's extremist agenda. But isn't A.N.S.W.E.R.'s role newsworthy? Isn't it something that newspaper readers need to be aware of, to get a balanced picture of the demonstrations?

The Times doesn't think so. The Times made the editorial judgment that you're better off not knowing who was responsible for that sea of yellow and black signs so clearly depicted in their own video. Because, when mainstream media organizations start referring to "mischievous toddlers," it's not hard to figure out whose side you're supposed to be on.

Which illustrates pretty well, I think, why we need citizen journalism.

Thanks to all who sent video and photos, and thanks especially to the tireless Joe Malchow, who assembled the Power Line Video. There were a number of other sites that put up pictures and movie footage of yesterday's demonstrations, some of which also contributed to our movie. I'll try to get links up to as many of those sites as I can later in the day.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin attended the Washington demonstration and posted both photos and video. At 3:35 this morning! Her site has lots more, just scroll.

[Ryan Ruck]

6 Arrested During Otherwise Peaceful Immigration Protest

For the most part, Monday's immigration march and rally was peaceful, but when a counter-protest group began burning Mexican flags, things got out of hand.

Tucson police made several arrests when protestors began throwing bottles and water at members of the Border Guardians group.

Officers say several protestors began to interfere with the arrests and started assaulting them.

Two officers received minor injuries when they were punched in the face.

Police had to use pepper spray to control the crowd.

Tucson Capt. Brett Klein says, “It appears that all of the actions of the officers were justified in the sense that there was probable cause to make arrest, and they were certainly encountering force at the time that they chose to use force.”

One News 4 photographer was injured when he got pepper spray in his eyes. He was treated and is doing fine this morning.

A total of six people were arrested, including three juveniles. They face numerous charges including aggravated assault on a peace officer, interfering with an arrest, and disorderly conduct.

Yeah because other than the assaults and bottle throwing, they were very peaceful!

[Ryan Ruck]

Rally Organizer Tied To Marxist Party

One of the key organizers of the immigration protests and rallies nationwide, including yesterday's in Washington, is a group whose leaders are tied to the Workers World Party, a Marxist organization that has expressed support for dictators Kim Jong-il of North Korea and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, which also has proposed a nationwide boycott on May 1 to protest congressional efforts at immigration reform and border security, is an offshoot of the International Action Coalition, an anti-capitalism group founded by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark.

In a press release celebrating a March 25 rally in Los Angeles against immigration-law enforcement that drew an estimated 500,000 people, ANSWER said it helped organize "a major contingent in the march" and provided logistical support. The march was co-chaired by Juan Jose Gutierrez, director of Latino Movement USA, who also is a member of ANSWER's Los Angeles steering committee.

"We are people of dignity, and we demand respect," Mr. Gutierrez said at the rally. "This is the beginning of a movement that is going to call for a national work stoppage."

Another ANSWER member who spoke at the rally, Gloria La Riva said: "The racist politicians thought they could step on us with their racist legislation, but they have awakened the immigrant giant, and they will feel our strength when we stop work."

Founded three days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the organization describes itself as a "coalition of hundreds of organizations and prominent individuals and scores of organizing centers in cities and towns across the country" that have campaigned against "U.S. intervention in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia ... and for civil rights and for social and economic justice for working and poor people inside the United States."

ANSWER also organized the first national anti-war rally after the September 11 attacks, a demonstration that brought 25,000 people to Washington and 15,000 to San Francisco on Sept. 29, 2001.

The Workers World Party, a communist organization in the United States founded in 1959, describes itself as a party that has, since its founding, "supported the struggles of all oppressed peoples" and opposes "all forms of racism and religious bigotry." In addition to sponsoring or directing numerous popular-front groups, it was instrumental in founding ANSWER through the International Action Coalition.

Its March 25 rally in Los Angeles and its planned "Great American Boycott of 2006" on May 1 are part of a series of large-scale events that the coalition hopes will sway lawmakers to put millions of illegal aliens in the United States on track toward permanent residency and U.S. citizenship.

ANSWER has denounced attempts by Congress to secure the United States' borders and criminalize illegal aliens as "racist," saying all working people should back full amnesty for all of the estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal aliens now in the United States. It has accused the media, government and corporations of "erecting borders against humans and waging war on immigrant America."

Calling its proposed boycott a "day without an immigrant," the coalition has labeled members of Congress -- both Republicans and Democrats -- as "hatemongers," saying it will "settle for nothing less than full amnesty and dignity for the millions of undocumented workers presently in the United States."

The street rallies and the proposed boycott are seen as critical in keeping what ANSWER has described as "pressure" on Congress so it will not be allowed to "decide how much equality or how much inequality, or how much repression, should be meted out to the millions of hardworking immigrant families."

"Immigrant workers, including the undocumented workers, are the sisters and brothers and allies of all those struggling for justice," the organization said.

The boycott, according to the coalition, means no work, no school, no shopping, buying or business as usual.

[Ryan Ruck]

Mexico Says U.S. Group Burning Mexican Flag Is Unacceptable

A Mexican official on Monday struck out at a U.S. anti-illegal-immigrant group for burning the Mexican flag outside a consulate in Tucson.

"We consider any provocation or vandalism of national symbols to be unacceptable," Foreign Relations Undersecretary Lourdes Aranda said in a news conference.

About 12 people from the Tucson-based Border Guardians burned the flag Sunday on the sidewalk in front of the Mexican Consulate. They carried a sign that read, "Defending American Sovereignty."

Group members spoke out against proposed immigration laws and blamed the Mexican government for the number of illegal migrants who enter the United States through Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The protest came as hundreds of thousands people have marched in U.S. cities to support giving rights of citizenship to illegal immigrants. Demonstrators have carried Mexican as well as American flags.

Border Guardians director Laine Lawless said the group plans to burn more flags.

"Anytime they take to the streets, we'll burn a Mexican flag," Lawless said.

Tough tamales!

[Ryan Ruck]

Seaboard Pork Plant To Close For Immigration Rally

Seaboard Corp. said it will close its Guymon, Oklahoma, pork plant on Monday to allow workers to attend rallies planned for that day in support of immigration reform, the company said.

The plant has a daily hog slaughter capacity of about 16,000 head, the company said.

On Tuesday, Cargill Inc. said its five beef plants and two hog plants will be closed on Monday for the rallies.

[Ryan Ruck]

Immigration Agents Were Ordered to Stay Away from Illegal Alien Protests

In past commentary on the mass illegal alien protests around the country, we have wondered aloud where Immigration chieftess Julie L. Myers, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been. We've also wondered aloud why ICE agents aren't converging on the mas protests to arrest the illegals. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel and very efficient.

Now, we know the answer. We assumed that Julie Myers a/k/a "The ICE Princess" and other Homeland Security officials ordered agents to stay away from the protests and not arrest anyone. Yes, the same ICE Princess who pledged to Congress that she was serious about illegal immigration. Serious, apparently, about letting it continue.

And, apparently, our assumption was correct.

We got word from ICE agents in Michigan and Ohio that they wanted to attend the rallies (which, in Detroit, were RIGHT in front of their building, the McNamara Federal Bldg.). They were ordered by their boss, Michigan/Ohio ICE Special Agent in Charge Brian Moskowitz a/k/a "Abu Moskowitz" to stay away from the rallies.

Abu Moskowitz forbade them from arresting any of the illegal aliens present. So, remind us again, WHY are we paying Abu Moskowitz $140,000.00 in U.S. taxpayer dollars per year? We're not quite sure--other than to use ICE resources to convene with his Islamist/"former" terrorist buddies and his retinue of female "companions."

Agents are angry that they were not allowed to arrest the illegals who were right in front of their noses, rubbing their illegal presence in the agents' faces. And agents tell us that they are told this was a nationwide policy coming directly from the ICE Princess ordering them to ignore the illegal alien rallies and forbidding them from making arrests. This is a disgrace.

Like we said all along, Julie Myers is incompetent and unqualified. But now she's committing professional malpractice against the American people. Well past time for her to GO.

[Aplomb]

My daughter is in a head start class. This particular head start works in co-operation with Catholic Charities. Here's the main body of a letter on Catholic Charities letterhead that all of the parents at my daughter's center received today...

April 27, 2006

Dear Catholic Charities Parents/Guardians,

As you may be aware, May 1, 2006 has been deemed a National Day of Solidarity to acknowledge immigrants and their rights. Many of our Child Care and Head Start staff have decided to participate in that day and have been granted the day off. Our centers will remain open but you may not recognize some staff in the classrooms on that day. Many of our management, supervisory and support staff will be providing coverage. All of these staff have the background checks that are required for education personnel in the classroom. We will maintain licensing standards but in order to do so we may have to combine classrooms like two toddler rooms. Infants must remain in their classroom.

I work in one of the Denver Public Schools. The principal there answered my question about what is happening with our school on May lst this way. Paraphrasing: We do want to be supportive and understanding. If somebody really feels that they can't be here, substitutes will be called in for them.

So there will be maybe half of the students out next monday where I work assistant teaching, and I will bring my daughter to work with me rather have her with people she doesn't know all day and new people have difficulty understanding her as she has a speech disability.

There is more than a fair share of "empathy" for illegal aliens going around all over the place in Denver. It is my hope that somehow there will be just as much "understanding" when these people don't show up for work on monday that there are Americans who can be hired to fill vacancies. I live on a very meager income and before I was hired here, I struggled for several years to have a job with a regular income that could support my family. They've got it all wrong, the premise of this boycott. It isn't that we need them and their contributions here. They have positions that the American poor want and need. You can bet that I DON'T support this boycott. The people whom I work with know why. There are plenty of people down at the human service buildings that need jobs. Employers can go down there to one of those buildings and secure some help tomorrow-- and if those temps do well on their new job on Monday, let these illegals kiss their jobs good-bye. And without work, they will figure that they may as well go home. But oh, how horrible to lose their jobs and then lose their expensive SUVs and their houses, and have to move and lose a dream of a better life. Yes, I agree. Yet at the same time, do they not know that they are taking all of this away from poor Americans? Of course they do. But they do it anyway and many that I have known are not even grateful for what they have or where they are. The attitude of demanding the same rights as legal citizens should tell you something even if you don't personally know any illegal aliens.