Fwd: Over 100,000 March in Chicago to Protest Immigration Reform Bill, Tuesday, March 14th, 2006

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

> Over 100,000 March in Chicago to Protest 
> Immigration Reform Bill in One of Biggest Pro-Immigrant Rallies in U.S. History
> Tuesday, March 14th, 2006
> <http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/14/1456247>http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/14/1456247
> Over 100,000 marchers took to the streets of 
> Chicago last Friday to fight a bill that would 
> rewrite the nation's immigration laws. The march 
> marked one of the biggest pro-immigrant rallies 
> in U.S. history. We discuss the implications of 
> the bill and the demonstration with a member of 
> one of the many organizations that spearheaded 
> the event. [includes rush transcript]
>
> The political debate over immigration reform 
> continues to heat up across the country 
> following the recent passage of a bill by the 
> U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate will 
> debate the bill later this month.
> Hundreds of thousands of marchers took to the 
> streets of Chicago last Friday to fight the bill 
> that would drastically strengthen immigration 
> enforcement, including extending a fence along 
> the Mexican border and severe punishment for 
> those who aid undocumented workers.
> The mostly Latino marchers crammed the streets 
> carrying signs saying for example "No human 
> being is illegal" and "we are not criminals." 
> Critics say the Sensenbrenner bill would turn 
> millions of undocumented workers into felons for 
> crossing the border without permission
> Police estimate 100,000 marchers participated, 
> making it one of the biggest pro-immigrant 
> rallies in U.S. history, according to national 
> advocates. However organizers estimate the 
> numbers were as many as half a million and 
> newspapers reports varied in that range.
> Last Tuesday thousands of immigrants rallied 
> against the bill outside the U.S. Capitol. More 
> action is expected to come across the country as 
> the bill is debated in Congress.
> Marchers in Chicago on Friday had the support of 
> local politicians. U.S. Democratic Congressman 
> Luis Gutierrez said in a speech, "This is our 
> country, and this is where we will stay."
> Democrat Governor Blagojevich addressed the 
> crowd in Spanish, saying, "You are not 
> criminals, You are workers." Longtime Mayor 
> Richard Daley also pledged support.
> Abel Nunez, associate director of Centro Romero, 
> a community-based organization that serves the 
> refugee immigrant population on the northeast side of Chicago.
> RUSH TRANSCRIPT
>
> AMY GOODMAN: We are joined now in Chicago studio 
> by Abel Nunez, associate director of one of the 
> many groups that spearheaded the event. Centro 
> Romero is a community-based organization that 
> serves the refugee immigrant population in the 
> northeast side of Chicago. We welcome you to Democracy Now!, Abel Nunez.
> ABEL NUNEZ: Good morning.
> AMY GOODMAN: This has gotten almost no attention 
> in this country. Massive protest. Did you expect 
> the numbers of people who protested on Friday?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Actually, yes. I think the 
> organizers were the only ones that really 
> believed the turnout was going to be that big. I 
> think the rest of ? you know, we?re very much a 
> silent, invisible, marginalized community, but I 
> think the organizers had a feeling that it was going to be a huge march.
> AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about exactly why people took to the streets?
> ABEL NUNEZ: I think that there is a feeling 
> that, you know, there are laws coming that are 
> putting people between a rock and a hard place, 
> and they have no place to go, unfortunately. 
> They have nothing to lose. A lot of people that 
> are undocumented feel fear about coming out, and 
> in past that?s why they haven't really 
> demonstrated. But now, they feel like they have 
> nothing to lose, that for the first time this 
> country is telling them: you are not wanted. I 
> mean, it?s not about just not being able to 
> adjust your status. It?s now about: we want you out.
> AMY GOODMAN: Talk about where the legislation is 
> right now. Passed by the House, but not by the Senate?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Correct. Actually right now the 
> Senate Judiciary Committee is discussing their 
> version of it. It is the time when I think the 
> leadership of the Senate wants a vote on a 
> specific bill by the 27th of this month. So, 
> grassroots movements are mobilizing to ensure 
> that the Senate hears -- not only sees the show 
> of marches on the street, but also, you know, 
> they hear from voters that this is not the 
> America that we want. And I think that during 
> this time we are trying to mobilize again people 
> to send in letters, call in to the Senate. It 
> appears that if something happens, it will be 
> somewhat different than the House bill that was 
> approved, Sensenbrenner HR 4437.
> AMY GOODMAN: We are talking to Abel Nunez, who?s 
> with Centro Romero, a community-based group in 
> Chicago, one of the organizers of the mass 
> protest on Friday there. Last week in our 
> headlines, we read that the Senate Judiciary 
> Committee is considering a law that would 
> classify social workers who feed and house 
> undocumented workers as human traffickers. The 
> ACLU criticizing the bill, saying it gives 
> extraordinary powers to detain non-citizens 
> indefinitely without meaningful review. It will 
> potentially place many non-citizens in a legal 
> black hole that subjects them to a life sentence 
> after having served a criminal sentence or, in 
> some cases, without ever having been convicted 
> of a crime. Can you just go through the 
> legislation and what is being considered now?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Correct. The House bill, 4437, 
> served as launching point for the Senate. 
> Senator Specter basically introduced a version, 
> his version, of the bill to discuss on the 
> Senate subcommittee, and it took a lot of the 
> border enforcement. The only difference with his 
> bill is that he did add what fellow Republican 
> Party ? is a controversial guest worker program 
> without the possibility of ever -- of 
> citizenship or a path to citizenship. And at 
> this moment they are being discussed. Senator 
> Durbin is part of that committee, our senator 
> here in Illinois. He has been a champion of the 
> immigrant fight, and the different forces are 
> trying to ensure that if any bill passes the 
> Senate, it?s more of a balanced effect, instead 
> of -- and not only an enforcement bill.
> AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the wall?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Yes. On the HR 4437, one of the 
> provisions is that a wall be constructed on the 
> southern border between Mexico and the United 
> States. And this is somehow, according to the 
> bill, would prevent immigrants from coming. I 
> think that misses the point, and it doesn't 
> really address the real issues as to why people 
> are coming to this country. And I think that the 
> facts show that this country needs the immigrant 
> labor force. You know, the globalization 
> factors, some factors that we, as an immigrant 
> community, have no control over, are pushing the 
> demand for this labor. So, I think that the wall 
> is an attempt to kind of put a facade of 
> security, given our current environment of 
> terrorism and protectionism that we are living 
> in in this country, but in reality, it will do 
> nothing to stem the flow of immigration, and it 
> does nothing for the more than 11 million 
> undocumented immigrants that are here in this country working.
> AMY GOODMAN: Where does due process fit into this picture?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Well, I think that?s what they are 
> taking out. I think, you know, their mode of 
> thinking is that they need to expedite -- they 
> need to give powers to law enforcement to 
> expedite removal of this country and one of the 
> laws -- the laws that have been put in place 
> actually have taken a lot of due process and 
> made it much more easier for border agents and 
> immigration officials to deport immigrants 
> immediately without giving them due process. I 
> think that really goes against the tradition of 
> this country, about giving people an opportunity to expose their case.
> AMY GOODMAN: Abel Nunez, what are you proposing 
> as an alternative immigration plan?
> ABEL NUNEZ: Yeah, I think if we are really 
> discussing about true immigration reform, one, 
> it has to address the 11 million undocumented 
> immigrants living and working in the United 
> States. We need to find a way to legalize their 
> status. Two, we need to create a program by 
> which we address the flow of immigrants that 
> will continue to come into this country in a way 
> that?s safe, in a way to regulate their passage. 
> And third, I think that we need to look at also 
> the waiting lines that exist for family members 
> to petition other family members; I mean, people 
> here who are citizens are petitioning family 
> members, and it?s taking, in some cases, twelve 
> years before a visa is available to them. I 
> think that the system is broken. It doesn't 
> truly address the current needs of this country, 
> and if we are talking about immigration reform, 
> we really have to address -- we have to approach 
> it from, you know, from a holistic approach, instead of just enforcement.
> AMY GOODMAN: Abel Nunez, on that note, I want to 
> thank you very much for joining us. He is with 
> the Centro Romero, a community-based group in 
> Chicago. And we?ll certainly continue to cover this issue.