The most counter-productive protest ever

[jsoaps]

Today hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants took to the streets to show that they are Americans and want to work. Of course they showed this by skipping work, waving various Latin American flags, and proposed a "nada gringo" boycott of American businesses for the day. Wow. That has to be one of the stupidest plans I've ever heard

Comments

[jsoaps]

"this has drawn national attention to a group that for years has been the subject of INS jokes and discrimination."

INS jokes and discrimination? I would hope INS would do their job and "discriminate" against those who enter the country illegally. It is even more interesting since the INs hasn't existed for a few years now... since the creation of DHS.

"People are aware of the issue now, at least in part. And the ball has been thrown into the court of debate. What could have been a one-sided debate about closing the U.S. border has turned into a pseudo-dialogue with both sides stepping up to the mic."

As someone who pays close attention to politics, I strongly disagree with your characterization of the issue's development. There has been a grassroots movement to more effectively guard and patrol the border that goes back to Pat Buchanan's 1996 Republican Presidential campaign. It hs gained in national attention because of 9/11 and because politicians began to court Hispanic voters. Many of them would attempt to court Hispanic voters by taking lenient positions toward illegal immigrants and would not address the poarse souterhn border.

This movement finally got a foothold in majority politics when the House passed a border enforcement bill in 2005. It is not as if people were only aware of this position and not aware of immirgation. Moreover, stricter border-enforcement is not mutually exclusive with "pro-immigrant" proposals. Immigration is not an overnight fix. However, people should be wary of a quick legalization coupled with enforcement plan, because the same plan failed in 1986. The 11 million illegals now in the country have all came since then. Your idealistic view of protest does not fit the politics of the present. illegal immigrants should be distancing themselves from anything that makes them look hostile or non-assimilatory, and they should distance themselves from the fringe-left groups that were part of the organization of the May Day protests... groups like A.N.S.W.E.R. and those who were waving USSR flags in LA. Tactics, Tactics, Tactics people....