ANGELENOS MARCH AGAINST ILLEGAL-IMMIGRATION BILL.Byline: Susan Abram, Lisa Friedman and Rachel Uranga Staff Writers In a continuing call for immigrant rights, residents and community leaders marched across Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on Monday during a National Day of Action held in dozens of U.S. cities. Thousands of Angelenos rallied downtown and in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. urging lawmakers to halt anti-illegal-immigrant legislation and allow a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Brandishing the Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes nickname for the U.S. flag. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 8567] See : America and "We are America" placards, immigrants and their supporters marched on federal buildings downtown and in Van Nuys, where they lit candles to protest pending immigration reform Immigration reform is the common term used in political discussions regarding changes to immigration policy. In a certain sense, reform can be general enough to include promoted, expanded, or open immigration, but in reality discussions of reform often deal with the aspect of . "This Congress has to acknowledge that (immigrants) built this country from its founding," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. told thousands of protesters who cheered from the steps of La Placita, one of the city's oldest churches. "Today we say to America: We've come here to work: We clean your toilets. We clean your hotels. We build your houses. We take care of your children. We want you to help us take care of our children as well." The marchers joined what immigrant advocates hoped would be the largest national protest ever. At dozens of rallies from Los Angeles to Denver to Washington, D.C., demonstrators protested federal legislation that would quicken deportations, tighten border security and turn undocumented immigrants into felons. A bill to grant citizenship to a vast majority of illegal immigrants collapsed in the Senate last week. Hours before the evening march, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, addressed a South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. school in support of the failed Senate bill. "I believe in balance," said Kerry. "Our borders do have to mean something, ladies and gentlemen. In the age of 9-11, it is important to know who's crossing our borders." In Washington, D.C., immigrants streamed down to the National Mall, walking from Malcolm X Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. He was introduced to the Black Muslims while serving a prison term and became a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. Park - a traditional staging ground for protests in the capital. Maria Gomez, 25, draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. herself with a Salvadoran flag. Gomez, who acknowledged being in the U.S. illegally, said she hopes politicians' minds are changed by the rallies. "We just want to work. We're not hurting anybody," she said. Oscar Rivera, 38, said he believes Congress should grant full amnesty to illegal immigrants. Originally from El Salvador, Rivera, a photographer, said he is a legal permanent resident of the U.S., and believes in open borders. "If globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation means companies can go into any country looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. cheap labor," he said, "then why can't people, why can't my family, go where they want to get better wages?" The rallies came two weeks on the heels of the largest demonstration in Los Angeles, when upward of 500,000 residents marched in support of immigrants' rights. In Los Angeles on Monday, more than 7,000 marchers took to the streets, waving American flags and clutching votive candles as they walked several downtown blocks across the 101 Freeway. The demonstration began at 5 p.m. and ended at the federal courthouse at sunset. Organizers billed the vigil as an interfaith day of action that spanned across race and class, and they say they will next push for a massive voting campaign and larger national demonstrations. "We are here because we are struggling for our people, for legalization LEGALIZATION. The act of making lawful. 2. By legalization, is also understood the act by which a judge or competent officer authenticates a record, or other matter, in order that the same may be lawfully read in evidence. Vide Authentication. ," said Efrain Santa Cruz, 44, of Monterey Park. "The silence is broken." An estimated 4,000 demonstrators marched from Panorama City to the Van Nuys federal courthouse, shutting down Van Nuys for two miles. Teresa Diaz, 45, of North Hollywood said she left four children in Mexico to find work in Los Angeles. "We came here to escape poverty," said Diaz, who is a citizen. "We are Americans." "I see the necessity of legalization firsthand," added Dora Posado, 41, of Sun Valley, a U.S. citizen who emigrated from El Salvador 26 years ago for better jobs. "When we don't have papers, they want to pay us less, they want to discriminate." Meanwhile, a coalition of immigrant-rights activists planned to disrupt the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
Maria Vergara, an activist with La Gente Unida, said speakers plan to send a "silent message" to the board. Miguel Guzman, president of La Gente Unida Political Action Committee, said the supervisors need to learn about how immigrants are suffering in the county. "We can't be looked down on as a lower class," he said. "We deserve equal opportunities and don't need anybody to step on our spirits like this." Daily News Staff Reporter Troy Anderson contributed to this report. rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3741 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa participates in the National Day of Action for Immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. Justice rally Monday afternoon. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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