Illegal Protest News ~~ Read it, you nappy headed ho's
Current mood: 
horny
Category: Life
from what is convade we have made a BIG IMPACT on this
here is so info and if you want a mp3 or read this the
web sight is
http://www.democrac ynow.org/ article.pl? sid=07/04/ 19/1349225
Mass Immigrant Rights Rally Planned for May Day 2007
One Year After Record Day of Protest
May Day is less than two weeks away. Last year, more
than a million and a half immigrant rights supporters
turned out for what was considered the largest day of
protest in U.S. history. We take a look at the state
of the immigrant rights movement and the plans for May
Day 2007. [includes rush transcript] We're less than
two weeks from May Day. On that date last year, more
than a million and a half immigrant rights supporters
turned out for what was considered the largest day of
protest in U.S. history. Many had walked off the job
in an action meant to highlight the impact of living
without immigrants. Organizers are expecting an even
greater turnout this year. Protests and walkouts are
planned across the country for what is being called
The Great American Boycott II.
The immigrant rights movement is facing several
challenges. President Bush recently vowed to renew his
effort to pass immigration reform, while immigrant
workers have been subjected to a growing wave of raids
and deportations.
* Javier Rodriguez, an organizer with the March
25th Coalition, one of the main groups behind the mass
rallies here in Los Angeles last year and for this
upcoming May Day as well.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is available free of charge. However,
donations help us provide closed captioning for the
deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank
you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, more...
AMY GOODMAN: We're less than two weeks away from May
Day. On that date last year, more than 1.5 million
immigrant rights supporters turned out for what was
considered the largest day of protest in US history.
Many had walked off the job in an action meant to
highlight the impact of living without immigrants.
Organizers are expecting an even greater turnout this
year. Protests and walkouts are planned across the
country for what's being called the Great American
Boycott II.
The immigrant rights movement is facing several
challenges. President Bush recently vowed to renew his
effort to pass immigration reform, while immigrant
workers have been subjected to a growing wave of raids
and deportations.
Javier Rodriguez is our guest, an organizer with the
March 25th Coalition, one of the main groups behind
the mass rallies here in Los Angeles last year and for
this upcoming May Day, as well. Welcome to Democracy
Now!, Javier.
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Thank you very much, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what you are planning
this year?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Well, we have sixty-three
organizations that have convened the second national
boycott for May 1: Great American Boycott II. We have
at this time approximately sixteen states on the list
with about seventy-five cities, the major cities in
the country, from LA all the way to New York -- Texas,
Colorado, the state of Washington, the Midwest,
Illinois, Wisconsin.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you think has happened in terms
of immigrant rights issues since last year?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Well, we defeated Sensenbrenner, the
Hagel-Martinez bill. And a new version of immigration
reform has come to the fore. It is essentially
pro-corporate- designed immigration reform.
And the difference now, in terms of us, we're a lot
better organized. We have been able to pretty much
consolidate the mass movement. And now, we are at, as
you said, almost two weeks towards May 1, and we
expect a large turnout, not just on the streets in
over seventy-five cities, but also the boycott.
Last year, just in LA alone, we almost closed the
whole city down. We had over four million people
participating. This time around, we may have the same
amount. We may affect the economy the same way, and in
the rest of the country.
But also, we have gone over to the other side to
organize in Mexico, and there's major support. In
Mexico, we have over a thousand organizations in
Mexico in different parts. And we are closing several
of the ports of entry from Mexico to the US. Last
year, just from Juarez and El Paso -- from Juarez,
over 40,000 workers refused to enter to work to El
Paso on May 1. This time around, it will be
Brownsville, Reynosa/McAllen border, and also Juarez
again, and hopefully we will have Tijuana.
In addition to Mexico, we also have Venezuela
expressing a big, big movement of solidarity with the
May 1 movement here for immigration reform, for the 12
million to 13 million people here.
Over 600,000 women with over 3.3 million children that
are US citizens, that's what the struggle is about
today.
AMY GOODMAN: What difference has it made that
Democrats are now in power in Congress?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Very little, at this time. Very
little. Yes, last year the Congress was controlled by
the extreme right. We were able to participate in the
overall electorate that defeated, especially the
antiwar sentiment. And now, we have, let's say -- the
first proposal came from the Democrats, the
Gutierrez-Flake bill, but it's essentially
corporate-designed. It is designed to make a worker
who has been here seven years, fourteen years, even up
to thirty-eight years, which is my mechanic -- the
project -- the proposal calls for a wait of
approximately fourteen years to be able to get your
green card, besides having a guest worker program,
besides having a totally enforcement, let's say,
section very similar to the Sensenbrenner bill.
AMY GOODMAN: When President Bush announced his
so-called guest worker plan, it was a few days after
yet another mass rally at the beginning of April of
tens of thousands of people here in Los Angeles. Among
the things in Bush's plan is to create a new visa
category for undocumented workers who could apply for
renewable three-year work permits for $3,500. Then, in
order to become legal residents, they would have to
return to their home countries, apply and pay a
$10,000 fine. The proposal also prohibits temporary
workers from bringing their families into the country.
Your response?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: My response: it's absurd, it's
ridiculous. Now, let's say, the $13,500 would pay for
the coyote, for the drug smuggler, five times. It is
-- let's say it is an insult. And what we see is
President Bush pushing for an immigration reform that
is, what we think, designed to counterweight, water
down any efforts by the Democrats to approve any
immigration reform, any future immigration reform,
either this year or the following year.
AMY GOODMAN: The significance of immigrants fighting
in Army being sent to Iraq?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Let's say, it's a shame. It is
making criminals, murderers, mercenaries out of
immigrants in exchange for a green card. And it is
making -- what is it? -- an estimated 40,000
immigrants, human beings, that it's going after human
beings in another country in a war that should not be
a war, that it's totally a war of occupation of, let's
say, with politically designed rationale, as it is
known now. It was totally fabricated. So if immigrants
are going with a sense of patriotism, with a sense of
getting in exchange their green card, or rather
citizenship, it is totally wrong.
AMY GOODMAN: What about these detention facilities
around the country? I think now a record of more than
26,000 immigrants currently in prison in the United
States. We have been doing a big story out of Taylor,
Texas, the Don Hutto Family Detention Center there,
where immigrants are held, about 200 children. I think
the ACLU has brought suit. You've also got the prisons
at Raymondville, the largest prison camp in the United
States. Can you talk about these?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: It is what we consider now the
immigration- industrial complex. Prisons are on the --
let's say are on the vision of government and also
industry, the enterprise. And along with the wall, it
is nothing but a money-making scheme, the building of
prisons, the building of detention centers. And it is
totally also in violation of human rights to imprison
children in this country, immigrant children, just for
so the-called crime of crossing into the United
States, just as adults.
AMY GOODMAN: How, finally, are you organizing in your
plans for May? What are the different organizations?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Let's say one of them: the
International Longshoremen Workers Union, or West
Coast union. They have passed a resolution to close
down the ports on May 1. The whole West Coast is going
to be closed. The trucking industry, those that pull
the cargo, also are with us. United Teachers of Los
Angeles are with us. The major coalitions in the
country that closed down the cities last year, San
Antonio, the Border Social Forum, a New York May 1
Coalition and others.
AMY GOODMAN: Javier Rodriguez, we're going to have to
leave it there. I want to thank you very much for
joining us.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire
program, click here for our new online ordering or
call 1 (888)
9:28 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment
No comments:
Post a Comment