THOUSANDS RALLY FOR UFW MARCH LEGAL STATUS FOR UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS SOUGHT.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer Thousands of farm workers and their supporters marched through downtown on Sunday, calling for temporary legal status for undocumented workers and railing against the same tough 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. bill that drew nearly a half-million protesters out onto Los Angeles streets the day before. Police said about 3,500 people showed up at the United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America (UFW) is a labor union that evolved from unions founded in 1962 by César Chávez, Philip Vera Cruz, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong. This union changed from a workers' rights organization that helped workers get unemployment insurance to that of union event, which also included a church service in honor of the late Cesar Chavez. Speakers called 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. measures to help undocumented workers and attacked a bill headed for the U.S. Senate that would criminalize crim·i·nal·ize tr.v. crim·i·nal·ized, crim·i·nal·iz·ing, crim·i·nal·iz·es 1. To impose a criminal penalty on or for; outlaw. 2. To treat as a criminal. illegal immigration and erect barriers along part of the border with Mexico. ``We want to remind everybody that we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us,'' UFW UFW United Farm Workers (union) UFW United Factory Warehouse co-founder Dolores Huerta said to the mostly Latino crowd at Sunday's event. ``We are the indigenous people of this continent.'' Waving American and Mexican flags and carrying signs that read ``This Bill Would Put Jesus in Jail,'' demonstrators rallied in front of the Federal Building before marching to 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 solemn service honoring Chavez. A bill by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would make it a felony to illegally enter the United States. House Resolution 4437, which comes before the Senate this week for debate, would also penalize pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. organizations or individuals who help illegal immigrants and increase penalties on employers who hire them. ``The reason this is coming up in Congress now is because the voters are so up in arms about the chaos of our immigration policy and failure to enforce laws against illegal immigration, and, more importantly, the impact that it's having against their daily lives,'' said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization in the United States that advocates for reforms of U.S. immigration policies that would result in significant immigration reduction. , which supports stiffer penalties. Sunday's march was attended by people of all ages, from young men in baseball caps to older men in cowboy hats. A group of young Korean drummers wearing yellow and red sashes marched, along with a six-person folklorico group clad in white and wearing colorful carnival masks. Christine Chavez's grandfather created the UFW to improve the lives of poor farm workers. Cesar Chavez Day State holiday in California observed on March 31. Cesar Chavez's Birthday. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suspended observance of the holiday in 2004 and 2005 to save money during the aftermath of the power crises. See also
``I think that he would be happy that people are using his birthday and celebrating his life,'' Chavez said. ``That they're coming together to talk about the importance of the work that the immigrants do and the work that the farmworkers do.'' Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Protesters flood Temple Street in downtown L.A. on Sunday for a United Farm Workers protest against pending anti-immigration legislation and a mass honoring Cesar Chavez. (2) Dolores Huerta, center, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, and Christine Chavez, left, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, march with protesters Sunday in downtown L.A. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (3) Jose Paredes, right, dances at Sunday's rally and march from the Federal Building to Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Ric Francis/Associated Press |
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