MARCH DRAWS A SMALLER TURNOUT IMMIGRANT-RIGHTS PROTESTERS RALLY.Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer Their numbers were diminished, but their voices were still loud and angry. Immigrant-rights protesters descended by the hundreds into downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or on Saturday, aiming to keep alive the spirit of the springtime marches that began the nationwide movement. Banging drums and bearing signs, they rallied for amnesty for the undocumented and protection from laws they called racist. Estimates on the crowd's size varied from several hundred into the thousands, but the march clearly drew smaller numbers than the massive crowds that jammed downtown streets March 25 and May 1. ``We're not criminals, we're not terrorists,'' said Socorro Berberian, a 45-year-old Ventura preschool teacher A Preschool Teacher is a type of early childhood educator who instructs children from infancy to age 5, which stands as the youngest stretch of early childhood education. Early Childhood Education teachers need to span the continum of children from birth to age 8. who came here illegally from Mexico 30 years ago, but has since become a U.S. citizen. ``We're just normal people, 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. work.'' While previous protests were raucous affairs that filled the streets with marchers for blocks upon blocks, Saturday felt smaller and more orderly. Parents wheeled their children in strollers; kids toted signs demanding respect and justice for families. Toward the front, labor unions hauled banners proclaiming solidarity. A few blocks back, near the tail end of the procession, more-extreme groups wearing bandanas and carrying signs likening lik·en tr.v. lik·ened, lik·en·ing, lik·ens To see, mention, or show as similar; compare. [Middle English liknen, from like, similar; see like2 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] and Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., author of a controversial bill calling for the prohibition of aid for undocumented immigrants, to Nazis. The march was a prelude to a larger Labor Day gathering planned for Monday in downtown Los Angeles, where state and local officials are expected to gather at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is a cathedral church of the United States in the City of Los Angeles in California. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles[1] and seat of its archbishop, Roger Cardinal Mahony. for a Labor Day breakfast in advance of a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Latin: Archidioecesis Angelorum in California) is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. . ``The momentum went out in the spring, but I think it'll be back again,'' said Eugene Hernandez, 54, of Sylmar, a Green Party member, social worker and second-generation Mexican-American. ``This helps empower the undocumented people. They're not citizens, but they have tremendous political impact.'' Pete Sake, a rapper and warehouse worker, came to the United States at the age of 3 and later became a citizen. With a group of friends, he walked through the sweltering swel·ter·ing adj. 1. Oppressively hot and humid; sultry. 2. Suffering from oppressive heat. swel heat and chanted. ``I gave up my Saturday because I see these people out here and they're the future of America,'' the 20-year-old said. ``It's a beautiful thing, people of all different colors working together. Regardless of what people think of this march, we're out there working, proving the point that we're not going to give up.'' brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3738 CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- 4) Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA, pronounced kee-wah), better known under its past name Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates, is a multi-ethnic immigrant worker civil rights membership organization based in the Los Angeles Koreatown area. , top, join the demonstrators marching in support of immigrants' rights in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. Center, demonstrators carry a banner as they head up the march. Above, Rosa Ayala joins in a chant while peering through a mock-up mock·up also mock-up n. 1. A usually full-sized scale model of a structure, used for demonstration, study, or testing. 2. A layout of printed matter. of a resident-alien card. At right, Elena Munoz of Placentia waves the American flag in support of immigration reform. Estimates on the crowd's size varied from several hundred into the thousands, but the turnout was visibly smaller than that of the March 25 and May 1 marches in downtown Los Angeles. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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