LOS ANGELES
Indignant immigrants march for rights
By Adrian Garcia
Los Angeles
Two thousand people, mostly Latino/as, descended on the
streets of downtown Los Angeles Oct. 19 to demand an immediate
end to attacks against undocumented workers in California and
elsewhere in the United States.
The crowd marched on Broadway, one of the busiest commercial
streets in downtown Los Angeles. Thousands of onlookers
witnessed the march. Many joined the protest as it passed en
route to City Hall.
"This is the first protest I have ever been to," said Gabino
Alvarez, who lives in a predominately immigrant area of Los
Angeles. "It is very exciting to see all these people rally
around this very important cause."
Other marchers expressed concerns about the police presence.
"I feel scared, but I believe it is important to stand up for
my rights. I am also doing this for my children," said one
undocumented worker, a mother of three.
Latino Movement USA and Hermandad Mexicana Nacional
organized the protest in response to the Bush administration's
reactionary anti-immigrant policies.
Los Angeles International Airport is one target of the
government's attack on immigrants' rights. The Immigration and
Naturalization Service carries out almost daily raids against
undocumented workers there under the veneer of "national
security."
In October California Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a bill that
would have granted drivers' licenses to undocumented workers.
Earlier Davis had promised to sign the bill.
Davis claimed that issuing licenses or identification cards
is a matter of national security. This has become the mantra
for the attacks against working people through out the United
States, from undocumented workers to Arab Americans to the West
Coast dock workers of the International Longshore and Warehouse
Union.
The march was followed by a rally on the steps of City Hall.
Speakers commented on the enthusiastic response of onlookers
and the need for more people to become involved in the struggle
for immigrants' rights.
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union,
got applause when she equated the struggle for immigrants'
rights to the hardships that farm workers endured during their
attempts to unionize in the 1960s. However, her declaration of
continued support for Gov. Davis was not well received by the
crowd.
Juan Jose Gutierrez, founder of Latino Movement USA,
expressed his enthusiasm about the day's turnout and informed
the people that the struggle will not end until respect,
dignity and equal rights are granted to the hard-working people
who are undocumented.
Reprinted from the Oct. 31, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
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