Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Thousands demonstrate over immigration

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published April 10, 2006

Tens of thousands of people in Florida protested federal immigration legislation Monday, joining hundreds of thousands nationwide who called on Congress to let them pursue the American dream.

Demonstrations unfolded in at least nine Florida cities, ranging from the highly organized to the purely spontaneous.

In Plant City, scores of high school students, many of them sons and daughters of Mexican immigrants, walked out of class to rally at City Hall.

In Tampa, more than 3,000 people gathered near Raymond James Stadium, waving flags and chanting "Si, se puede" (Yes, we can).

And in Fort Myers, an estimated 75,000 people marched in a line a mile long.

"One person doesn't have influence, but you are seeing how many of us there are," said Damian Cruz, 26, a Naples construction worker who came to the U.S. six years ago from Mexico. "Now you're going to see the influence."

Similar scenes were repeated in dozens of cities across the country. In New York, organizers estimated they drew 125,000 to City Hall. Phoenix saw 50,000 protesters. And Garden City, Kan., a farm town of less than 30,000 residents, drew 3,000 demonstrators.

All were galvanized by Congress' attempt this year to pass the most sweeping immigration legislation in two decades.

The House passed a bill in December that focuses on border security and deporting illegal immigrants, leading to massive rallies from Los Angeles to New York.

Last week, the Senate nearly passed legislation that would allow many of the 11-million immigrants in the United States illegally a chance to stay.

But the compromise, spearheaded partly by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, fell apart Friday after Republican and Democratic leaders failed to agree on how to pass the legislation before leaving for a two-week recess.

If the Senate passes a bill, the two chambers would still have to work out a compromise.

In Washington Monday, tens of thousands of demonstrators cheered and chanted in front of the Washington Monument facing the U.S. Capitol.

"This is a fight for all immigrants," shouted Juan Carlos Ruiz, a leader of the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, which organized the Washington rally with 40 other groups. "Today we march. Tomorrow we vote."

Florida, which ranks third in the country with an estimated 850,000 illegal immigrants, initially kept a low profile in the nationwide debate.

But that changed over the weekend as thousands of people marched in communities such as Miami, Orlando and eastern Pasco County's Dade City.

Unlike the Los Angeles rally, where Mexican flags carried by demonstrators sparked criticism, there were no Mexican flags in Dade City Saturday.

"We wanted to let them know that we love and respect the American flag," said Evilia Montiavar, an organizer with United Farmworkers.

Those expressions of love continued Monday.

Before the first bell rang at Plant City High School Monday morning, dozens of students walked out, ignoring pleas by one administrator to stop. By the time they reached City Hall, their numbers reached almost 200.

Senior Stefany Marquez, 18, said parents like hers, who worked in the fields and now in construction, want to do their jobs without fearing deportation.

"I can't go to college or anything," said Stefany, who came to this country illegally with her family at age 10. "I did want to go to college and major in business. But if I can't go to college, I'm going to have to work with them."

Forklift operator Carlos Palacios said about 90 of 100 workers at Del Monte Fresh Products in Plant City walked off the job at 6 a.m.

"The supervisor tried to talk me into getting them to come back," he said. Then the general manager offered to pay them doubletime, Palacios said.

The workers refused.

"It's about principle," he said.

In Fort Lauderdale, about 1,000 protesters marched at the federal courthouse, representing the vast Caribbean and Latin American diversity of South Florida: Colombia, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico.

Chanting " "El pueblo, unido, jamas sera vencido ," (A united community will never be conquered), they called for full amnesty for all illegal immigrants.

William Montes of Puerto Rico said no terrorists, including those who attacked the U.S. on 9/11, have ever come over the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Our borders should be open to all who want to work," he said. "No terrorist is coming here to work."

The Florida groups also plan what they hope will be a bigger action on May 1: a one-day strike to underscore the vital role illegal immigrants play in the state's economy, with a rally in Orlando involving groups from across the state.

The purpose would be "to show that there won't be a babysitter, no one to harvest tomatoes, no one to construct homes," said Marytza Saenz, president of the Latino Leadership, a nonprofit group in Orlando.

The size and energy of the recent demonstrations surprised many observers, including Hispanic leaders not used to seeing Hispanic immigrant communities so vocal.

"Our community has been ready to mobilize, though we have not been able to provide them with the structure and leadership," said Jaime Contreras, National Capital's chairman. "Now we are all connected. We are all coordinating through the Internet."

Hispanic leaders say they are also trying to draw support from other ethnic groups.

J. Traci Hong, of the Asian American Justice Center, noted that there are 1-million undocumented Asians.

"Let there be no doubt that this is a terribly, terribly important issue to the Asian community," she said.

Rally planners also reached out to organized labor.

"This is not about Hispanics being here today," said Debra Booth, president of the Central Florida AFL-CIO. "It's about the community."

Times staff writers Saundra Amrhein, Antia Kumar, Tamara Lush and Alexandra Zayas and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Last modified April 10, 2006, 22:17:02]