"We Are Not Criminals"
Today, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for immigrant rights, and in protest of the draconian "immigration reform" bills being argued in the House & Senate.
In Atlanta:
Thousands of marchers chanting "Si se peude" ("Yes we can"), wearing white T-shirts and waving mostly American flags overtook Dresden Drive Monday to participate in a National Day of Action on Immigrants' Rights.
The raucous but orderly crowd began their march from the Plaza Fiesta shopping mall on Buford Highway shortly before 10 a.m. Many carried signs or wore shirts bearing slogans such as "We are not criminals we are hard workers" and "I'm a human being."
In DC (where I wanted to march, but had to work):
Thousands of protesters poured into Washington today for a rally for immigrant rights that Latino organizers hope will lead to a permanent movement that will boost the political capital of the nation's largest minority group.
The demonstrations planned this afternoon on the Mall--a venue that was the stage for other social movements, such as civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s and opposition of the Vietnam War in the 1970s--come as Congress is bitterly divided over how to deal with the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.
Organizers of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice hope to attract as many as 180,000 people to the rally in Washington and hundreds of thousands more to demonstrations in dozens of other cities. La Marcha , as some volunteers are calling the Washington rally, could slow the afternoon commute out of the District.
Gabriel Flores, 25, a U.S. resident from El Salvador, said he came to the rally in Washington to support his brother and uncle, who are undocumented workers.
"We are not criminals," Flores said. "We are not terrorists. We come here to work."
And across the country:
The marches were taking place in big cities like Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City and Atlanta, and in smaller communities like Hyde Park, N.Y., Garden City, Kan., and Belle Glade, Fla. Some of the marchers invoked the tactics and slogans of the civil rights era, and others were trying out a new voice for an emerging constituency that in the very recent past has hidden from authority because of their lack of papers, afraid to speak up, willing to work for wages that American citizens will not accept.
Tyler, Texas
In Madison, Wis., a rally drew 25,000, organizers said. The police, who estimated the crowd to be closer to 10,000, nevertheless said it was one of the largest rallies they have seen in 10 years there.
One man, José Piñeda, 30, who works at the American Girl doll factory in Madison and was at the rally with his wife and two young children, was asked if they were not afraid to march in a rally where they might be identified as illegal and therefore subject to capture or prosecution by authorities. "No," Mr. Piñeda said. "We are not criminals."
It has become the rallying cry of demonstrations that have grown in size and frequency in the last month, as Congress has considered the thorny issue of immigration legislation.
It's a beautiful thing. I've said it before and I'm saying it again: we're on the verge of a new civil rights era in the country. Elected democrats need to make sure they're on the right side of this.
In Atlanta:
Thousands of marchers chanting "Si se peude" ("Yes we can"), wearing white T-shirts and waving mostly American flags overtook Dresden Drive Monday to participate in a National Day of Action on Immigrants' Rights.
The raucous but orderly crowd began their march from the Plaza Fiesta shopping mall on Buford Highway shortly before 10 a.m. Many carried signs or wore shirts bearing slogans such as "We are not criminals we are hard workers" and "I'm a human being."
In DC (where I wanted to march, but had to work):
Thousands of protesters poured into Washington today for a rally for immigrant rights that Latino organizers hope will lead to a permanent movement that will boost the political capital of the nation's largest minority group.
The demonstrations planned this afternoon on the Mall--a venue that was the stage for other social movements, such as civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s and opposition of the Vietnam War in the 1970s--come as Congress is bitterly divided over how to deal with the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.
Organizers of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice hope to attract as many as 180,000 people to the rally in Washington and hundreds of thousands more to demonstrations in dozens of other cities. La Marcha , as some volunteers are calling the Washington rally, could slow the afternoon commute out of the District.
Gabriel Flores, 25, a U.S. resident from El Salvador, said he came to the rally in Washington to support his brother and uncle, who are undocumented workers.
"We are not criminals," Flores said. "We are not terrorists. We come here to work."
And across the country:
The marches were taking place in big cities like Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City and Atlanta, and in smaller communities like Hyde Park, N.Y., Garden City, Kan., and Belle Glade, Fla. Some of the marchers invoked the tactics and slogans of the civil rights era, and others were trying out a new voice for an emerging constituency that in the very recent past has hidden from authority because of their lack of papers, afraid to speak up, willing to work for wages that American citizens will not accept.
Tyler, Texas
In Madison, Wis., a rally drew 25,000, organizers said. The police, who estimated the crowd to be closer to 10,000, nevertheless said it was one of the largest rallies they have seen in 10 years there.
One man, José Piñeda, 30, who works at the American Girl doll factory in Madison and was at the rally with his wife and two young children, was asked if they were not afraid to march in a rally where they might be identified as illegal and therefore subject to capture or prosecution by authorities. "No," Mr. Piñeda said. "We are not criminals."
It has become the rallying cry of demonstrations that have grown in size and frequency in the last month, as Congress has considered the thorny issue of immigration legislation.
It's a beautiful thing. I've said it before and I'm saying it again: we're on the verge of a new civil rights era in the country. Elected democrats need to make sure they're on the right side of this.