"United States Of America Or Mexico?"

Thousands of chanting, flag-waving immigrants and activists rallied in cities across the country Thursday, attempting to reinvigorate calls for immigration reform in a presidential election year in which the economy has taken center stage.

From Washington to Miami to Los Angeles, immigrant rights activists demanded citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and an end to raids and deportations.

"We come here to fight for legalization. We're people. We have rights," said Eric Molina, an undocumented factory worker who immigrated to Zion, Ill., from Mexico.

Turnout has fallen sharply since the first nationwide rallies in 2006, when more than 1 million people — at least 400,000 in Chicago alone — clogged streets and brought downtown traffic to a standstill. Activists say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president.

Some said participation likely was lower because many immigrants increasingly fear deportation.

Margot Veranes, a volunteer organizer in Tucson, Ariz., — where 12,000 took to the streets last year but early estimates Thursday put the crowd at about 500 — blamed the turnout on aggressive enforcement by Border Patrol and police.

"People have been stopped and deported in the last week. This is a community living in fear," said Veranes, a researcher for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. "You never know when you're going to be stopped by Border Patrol and now the police."

But she said that's also why people were marching.

"We're marching to end the raids and the deportations, but we're also marching for health care and education and good jobs," she said.

      The promise of America is what all who are born here or immigrate here cling to, despite the discriminations, inequalities and injustices that America is still struggling to rectify. We are a nation that was born from voluntary and involuntary immigrants (slaves). The hope and possibility of a better life binds all who call themselves Americans. It seems politically incorrect to use the term "illegal immigrants" by the three Presidential hopefuls this year. Obama, Clinton and McCain seem to prefer to use the  apparently politically correct term of "undocumented workers" in referring to the Hispanic voting bloc.

"Our people, we pay taxes, we pay the same as a citizen," said Tesillos, who has a Green Card. "Maybe the new president can see this point, and do something for us."

But activists say they know it will be a challenge to push their issues to the political forefront.

Immigration reform did not resonate with voters in primary elections who overwhelmingly listed the economy as their top concern. Immigration legislation has stalled and been defeated in the Senate, and presidential candidates have not extensively addressed the issues.

Democratic presidential rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supported a 2006 bill, sponsored by Republican candidate John McCain, that offered illegal immigrants legal status on conditions such as learning English. All three also have supported a border fence.

    All three Presidential candidates have pretty much avoided the issue of illegal immigration which seems to be a primary motive of these rallies, that of bringing the issue to the fore in this election year. What most Hispanic activists don't seem to get is what exactly galls Americans about them being here in America. In the photograph above seeing the elderly Hispanic woman draped in the American flag is something we can identify with. but seeing the younger woman in the background waving the Mexican flag pisses Americans off, big time! We as native Americans see hundreds of thousands of Hispanic illegal immigrants here in this country for years and still can't speak English, apparently because they don't have to or want to. We native born Americans, in spite of Hispanic illegal immigrants working and buying homes, don't see these Hispanic immigrants assimilating into American society. They are here but their hearts are in Mexico or whatever Latin American country they come from. It is like they don't want to be Mexican-Americans, they want to be Mexicans in America, ostensibly to enjoy the benefits of America and send money back to Mexico. Compassion is difficult to have for someone if you feel that someone is using you, which I think is the crux of the matter when it comes to illegal Hispanic immigration. Native born Americans feel Mexico and illegal Mexican immigrants are using them. If something is not done about illegal immigration, the next race war won't be blacks versus whites, it will be native born Americans against the flood of illegal Hispanic immigrants perceived as taking over America and turning America into an Hispanic nation and culture. The solution is very simple. Illegal Hispanic immigrants (or undocumented workers), love America or leave it.

tags: illegal immigration  mexico  undocumented workers  protests  society  takebackamerica  politics  

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