>>> PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY <<< Monday, May 1, 2006
MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE RALLY FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS IN DOWNTOWN SANTA ANA Thousands flood into the streets surrounding major government office buildings By DUANE J. ROBERTS [EMAIL PROTECTED] SANTA ANA, CA -- A crowd of more than 10,000 people jammed the streets of downtown Santa Ana earlier this afternoon to demand full amnesty for undocumented workers and protest pending legislation going through Congress that would criminalize their presence within the United States. Santa Ana police were badly outnumbered as thousands of working class Mexicans, El Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and persons of other nationalities took to the streets and marched around a complex of buildings that housed federal, state, county, and city government offices. One marcher proudly held up a sign saying, "If being a hard worker makes me a criminal, I guess I'm guilty." Others simply read: "Aiding my kids is not a crime"; "Naturalize the working immigrant"; "Working is not a crime"; and "In 1620, the Mayflower brought the first immigrants." Although some carried the brightly colored flags of Mexico, El Salvador, and other countries, many flew U.S. flags of all shapes and sizes. One group of marchers brought a U.S. flag so huge that it required the assistance of about a dozen people to carry it from one place to another. In a business district located not far away from the Ronald Reagan Federal courthouse, dozens of small merchants closed up shop for the entire day. Many had signs posted on their windows supporting the nationwide boycott. "We support the rights of immigrants," read one sign in Spanish. Despite the presence of dozens of Santa Ana police officers, there were no reported arrests or incidents of abuse. This writer did witness an incredibly tense moment when officers riding on horseback refused to let a handful of people join the marchers. The situation was quickly diffused, however. The overwhelming majority of persons participating in this march behaved in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Many were moms and dads that came to the demonstration with young children; some pushed baby strollers. A large number of high school and college students were also present. ### For photos, please see the following link: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/05/155648.php __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
