Organizers of the May Day march, scheduled for Saturday morning in downtown Los Angeles, say that the outcry over the Arizona law and the slow pace of congressional action on immigration reform have prompted renewed activism. The law, set to take effect in midsummer, makes it a state crime for illegal migrants to be in Arizona, requires police to check for legal status and prohibits people from hiring day laborers off the street.So odds a really good that these rallies will greatly exceed the April 15th Tea Party ones. Think anyone in the Tea Party or the media gives a damn? I'm sure more coverage will be given to the angry racist counter protests, frankly.
Meanwhile, many immigrant-rights activists say they are losing patience with the Obama administration and Congress for not pressing comprehensive legislation that would legalize the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants and allow more family visas in addition to beefing up border enforcement. Although Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled a 26-page "conceptual proposal" for a bill Thursday, activists remain dismayed that he continues to postpone introducing actual legislation.
The combination of those events — along with fear that several immigrant-friendly Democrats will suffer political defeat in November — has pushed the alarm button for many activists. For the first time since 2006, several immigrant rights coalitions have put aside their differences and are unifying behind a single march this year.
"Absent our unity, immigration reform will always be put off to another day," said Angelica Salas of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "We need to show a powerful force that we won't give up on immigration reform in 2010."
Salas said the Spanish-language media, which helped fuel a massive turnout of more than 500,000 marchers in 2006, have closely covered the Arizona law and are helping publicize Saturday's march.
But hey, they're not "Real Americans" like Moose Lady, so they don't count.
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