del.icio.usDiggDiggRedditRedditYahooMyWebYahooMyWebGoogleGoogleThese icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.What's this? KKK usurps protest Minuteman group calls off rally By Sahra Susman, Staff Writer Article Launched: 03/31/2007 11:33:19 PM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - An illegal-immigration protest organized by the Minuteman Project on Saturday morning was foiled by the arrival of members of the Ku Klux Klan. Beyond Borders Special Section: Complete immigration news & Multimedia Photo Gallery: Minutemen Protests About 10 members of the white-supremacist group showed up at Arrow Highway and Grove Avenue and proceeded to shout chants and wave an American flag. Some members wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the KKK insignia concealed their identity with bandanas and sunglasses. One man identified himself as a member of the White Legion Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from Yucaipa. KKK members said they were at the protest to support the Minuteman Project but refused to comment further. Minuteman Project National Rally spokesman Raymond Herrera said his group of about 40 members decided to leave shortly after the KKK showed up. Herrera said Minuteman Project members did not invite the KKK and would no longer post the dates of protests on its Web site. "We don't approve of standing anywhere near the KKK - they're not with us," said Herrera, a Mexican-American from Victorville. "We're a multi-ethnic group. We don't believe in racism, and when the Nazis show up we cancel the rallies immediately. We do not intermingle and we do not believe in their philosophy." San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies and Upland police officers monitored the protest. No arrests were made. The agencies did confirm reports were made that KKK members were in attendance. But when Minuteman Project members left, the protest at the intersection didn't stop. More than 100 day laborers and affiliates counter-protested in front of Arrow Grove Market. The noisy group focused their attention on the KKK and other remaining protesters, which numbered less than 20. For about three hours, protesters from all sides of the immigration debate - and the intersection - chanted and shouted at each other as well as passing vehicles. The intersection at Arrow and Grove divides Rancho Cucamonga and Upland and has been a traditional meeting spot for day laborers who congregate there looking for work. Minuteman Project National Rally Coordinator Robin Hvidston said she planned Saturday's protest in order "to bring awareness to the fact that employers were taking advantage of foreign national workers." Employers who hire illegal immigrants are breaking the law and the Minuteman Project wants city officials to see "what is going on on their sidewalks," Hvidston said. In 2003, the Rancho Cucamonga City Council approved the nonprofit TOUCH Outreach Ministries to operate a day-labor center near the intersection. But when the property owner decided to develop the land, the center was forced to close last summer. Day laborers still gather in the vicinity seeking employment. "It's true that there are problems when workers meet on the corner," said Jose Calderon, a sociology and Chicano studies professor at Pitzer College and president of the Latino-Latina Roundtable of San Gabriel and Pomona Valley. "It brings forward the need to collaborate with other nonprofits and work with the community to develop a day-labor center where people can gather safely." Mike Nava, a former Pomona Day Labor Center executive director, said he visits the site daily in an effort to keep the day laborers organized. "We're trying to get them another (day-labor) center," he said. Debbie McClay, a teacher in Orange County, said she provides English lessons to day laborers on Saturdays near the site. "I feel really strongly that a center is important and something that we need to protect the workers," McClay said. Will Downing, a Pomona College student who teaches a weekly English class on a sidewalk near the intersection, said day laborers provide a service for employers. "We're here to confront the Minutemen and defend the (day laborers') right to petition work on the public's sidewalk," Downing said. Upland resident Debra Bedoy said she was exercising her right as a U.S. citizen to protest against illegal immigrants. "These people sneak in the back door and they cut in front of the line," Bedoy said. "I've talked to legal immigrants and every one of them is angry." Gregg Acker, a manger at Lee Wise Garage, an auto repair shop near the intersection, said more than 50 day laborers gather daily within a two-block radius of his shop, "swamping the parking lot and blocking the driveway." "My problem ... is loitering," he said. Across the street, Arrow Grove Market manager Salim Samouh said the protest on Saturday had negatively affected business. "When they see 100 people outside, they're not going to stop by," Samouh said. "I feel sorry for the whole situation. It's not either side's problem. It's the government." Staff writer Sahra Susman can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED], or by phone at (909) 483-9356. photos: http://dailybulletin.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=249515 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! 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