Latinos march for immigrant rights

[Klaus]

Latinos march for immigrant rights
Thousands in Georgia, across the U.S. rally for reform

By TERESA BORDEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/10/06

Thousands of marchers chanting "Si se peude" ("Yes we can"), wearing white T-shirts and waving mostly American flags overtook Dresden Drive Monday to participate in a National Day of Action on Immigrants' Rights.

The raucous but orderly crowd began their march from the Plaza Fiesta shopping mall on Buford Highway shortly before 10 a.m. Many carried signs or wore shirts bearing slogans such as "We are not criminals we are hard workers" and "I'm a human being."

The protest ended as scheduled at 2 p.m. Heavy traffic has been reported in the area, the bumper-to-bumper variety near the Buford Highway, Clairemont Road intersection. No roads have been closed but police advised motorists to steer clear of Dresden Road and Buford Highway.

DeKalb County police detective Ariel Toledo said the crowd was estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 people.

There were over 100 officers assigned to the march, he said.

Among the marchers was state Sen. Sam Zamarripa, who recently announced he would resign from his seat.

"I don't think there's been anything like this ever before in Atlanta," said Zamarripa, an Atlanta Democrat. "These people want to be viewed with dignity. This is a human face of what has been characterized as a criminal element."

But the senator was disappointed that more business leaders had not shown up for the event.

"This community is overcoming its fear to be here," he said. "If these people can come out of the shadows, the business people should be here, too."

Marcher Juan Ballesteros, of Lawrenceville, was wearing a white "God Bless America T-shirt and carrying a sign that said, "Awaken giant."

"We have been working quietly in this country, but when they called us criminals, they woke us up," said Ballesteros, 38, who said he has have lived in this country illegally for eight years and works for a dress making company.

Jorge Angeles, an onion harvester from Lyons, rather than working in the fields, was holding a sign at the protest Monday at reading "I eat Grits, You eat Tacos."

Angeles said his sign symbolized Americans and Mexicans being more alike than different.

"We're all created equal, I have two hands, you have two hands, I have two feet, you have two feet," he said.

Angeles, 33, drove to Doraville with five other field hands, he said. A native of Mexico, he has lived in the country five years illegally and makes about $300 a week, he said.

Rachel Marascalco, a 25-year-old graduate student from Georgia State University said she is not Latino, but is at the march "out of concern for the United States of America and the Latino community. This issue is bigger than the Latino community."

The event was to coincide with marches around the country, in cities from San Jose, Calif., to Siler City, N.C., by immigrants protesting in favor of broad immigration reform and against the criminalization of illegal immigrants. Some said the Senate's failure on Friday to vote on a compromise measure providing a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants actually would swell turnout.

"It's going to be the precise day to demonstrate the importance of the Latino community," said Adelina Nicholls, president of the Coordinating Council of Latino Community Leaders and an organizer of the local march. "They did not reach an agreement or a vote. That is nationally significant. It opens up space for reconsideration."

Sharon Spurrell of Chamblee watched in the shade of a tree as protestors passed by. A former house cleaner, she said it is more difficult to find work with so many immigrants in the Atlanta area doing those jobs. "I don't hate them or anything, I just feel like they took over," said Spurrell, 45, who was sitting with her daughter and her sisters.

The Georgia Legislature passed its own crackdown on illegal immigration at the end of this spring's session, with a bill that establishes penalties for human trafficking, lets state police enforce immigration law upon agreement with federal authorities, prohibits employers of illegal immigrants from claiming their wages as tax deductions, and requires state and local authorities to verify that benefit recipients are in the country legally.

Nicholls said she hoped Monday's crowd would reach 40,000 marchers. It was set to leave Plaza Fiesta, march along Dresden Drive, circle around the Brookhaven MARTA station and return along Dresden to Plaza Fiesta to rally until about 3 p.m. She said they were being encouraged to wear white T-shirts and to bring U.S. flags, the latter in response to heated criticism by talk radio commentators and others that Mexican flags waved at previous marches showed that immigrants don't want to assimilate. While the majority of flags were American, there were some from other countries among the crowd, including Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Nicholls said buses, car pools and rented vans were expected to bring in participants from as far away as Gainesville, Dalton, Carrollton, Statesboro, Tifton, Claxton and Savannah. She said even a pastor in Nashville called and promised to bring a group.

Closer to home, protesters were expected from Cobb and Gwinnett counties. Gwinnett has the state's largest immigrant population, with one out of every five residents being foreign-born.

Across the country, organizers in large cities and small towns made tentative predictions of turnout: up to 200,000 in Washington; up to 10,000 in Houston, and Tucson, Ariz.; up to 5,000 in Philadelphia; and 500 to 1,000 in Siler City.

However many show up, Nicholls said they'll make a statement.

"Finally, unity makes for strength," she said. "We want to stop being invisible."