‘Somos trabajadores no terroristas’—We are workers not terrorists!

More than 1,500 courageous undocumented workers from Latin America, Africa and Asia risked arrest and deportation on Feb. 14 to participate in “A Day Without an Immigrant” actions to bring attention to the role immigrants play in the economy and to protest pending federal anti-immigrant legislation.

The historic gathering, which drew busloads of immigrants and supporters from across southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, took place across from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall where the U.S. Constitution was written. While flags from Mexico, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic waved over the crowd, speakers included Mexican@s, Chinese, Ecuadoreans, Colombians, West Africans, Indonesians, Salvadorans, Argen tineans, and Filipinos, many speaking in their native languages.

“We are united and we will fight for liberty,” Angel Cordero, a community activist from Camden, NJ told the crowd. He carried a sign reading “Todos Somos Inmigrantes”—we are all immigrants.

Rally organizer Brad Baldia, a Filipino American, told Workers World, “We wanted to be as inclusive as possible. The meetings for this event were held in the Mexican@ community, but we plan to meet in Asian and African communities for future events.” Baldia mentioned that the actions also received coverage from media in Mexico, Korea, and India, as well as the national media in the U.S.

The rally specifically targeted the draconian anti-immigration legislation drafted by U.S. Rep. James Sensen bren ner (R-Wis.) and Peter King (R-NY) and passed by the House in December that would treat undocumented workers as felons, subject not just to deportation, but to prison time. The Sensenbrenner-King Act (HR 4437) would increase fines against employers who hire undocumented workers and classify these employers as “alien smugglers.” HR 4437 would also crack down on religious and community groups that provide assistance for undocumented workers and their families.

Following the Liberty Bell rally a delegation of 50 workers visited the Center City offices of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), that overlook the rally site. Specter chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering a compromise immigration bill. Baldia told Workers World, “We saw Specter looking down at the rally from his window.”

Perhaps the most important component of “A Day Without an Immigrant” was a one-day strike by undocumented workers to demonstrate their key role in construction, maintenance and other service industries. The impact of the strike was timed to be felt in particular by Philadelphia’s Center City restaurants on Valentine’s Day, one of the industry’s busiest days of the year.

The undocumented workers wanted to make themselves seen, heard and missed on Valentine’s Day to demonstrate the economic contribution of undocumented “shadow workers” as a way of encouraging restaurant owners to work against passage of the HR 4437 bill.

The Valentine’s Day action was inspired by the 2004 film “A Day Without a Mexican” about the possible impact on California if its Latin@ residents disappeared. While some restaurant owners reportedly threatened to fire workers who honored the strike, others admitted the difficulty in sustaining Philadelphia’s current restaurant boom without undocumented workers to bus tables, wash dishes and prepare food—jobs that pay minimum wage to $10 per hour.

Roughly 11 million workers, 5 percent of the U.S. workforce, are undocumented. An estimated 100,000-150,000 work in Pennsylvania, and 350,000 in New Jersey. The National Restaurant Association has made it a priority to stop the Sensen brenner-King bill in Congress this year.

Ricardo Diaz, another rally organizer, reported that the primary goal of the Day Without an Immigrant was to raise public awareness. In the weeks leading up to the strike there were widespread rumors of an immigration authority crackdown and mass deportations in the Philadelphia area, possibly designed to diminish the turnout, but Diaz noted, “It actually made people more aware of their vulnerability and encouraged them to turn out.”

This was reflected in comments by rally participant Jose Aguila, who said, “We are here to make a better life for our children, and we must stand up for ourselves and not hide in fear anymore.”

The third thrust of the protest was to encourage immigrants to avoid purchasing anything on that day, and for immigrants who ran small shops to close their businesses for the day. More protests are planned for Trenton, N.J. and Wash ington, D.C. in March. Photos and video of the Feb. 14th actions are available at www.daywithoutanimmigrant.com.