Thousands Rally for Changes to Immigration Bill in Congress

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/washington/03rally.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

Thousands Rally for Changes to Immigration Bill in Congress


By NEELA BANERJEE
Published: June 3, 2007

WASHINGTON, June 2 — Thousands of immigrants and their supporters gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol on Saturday to urge the Senate to adopt legislation that would make it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal residents of the United States.

snip//

“I don’t expect to get a perfect bill, but the current legislation has serious flaws we think need to be fixed,” said Jaime Contreras, president of the immigration coalition’s board. “If Congress doesn’t take action this year, they are misreading the public. The immigrant community is paying close attention and knows who is on our side and who isn’t.”

Most of the speakers addressed the crowd in Spanish and organizers encouraged demonstrators to sign postcards to members of Congress and to call their senators. Some of those interviewed said they were naturalized citizens or legal residents who were closely following the debate and considered much of the pending bill unnecessarily punitive.

Others worried about the part of the bill that would award legal status to highly skilled immigrants more easily than to those with family here, saying it would split up families.

Alvaro Llanos, 34, of Washington, a citizen who emigrated from Chile, said, “If you want to gain residency, you get a certain number of points based on your skills, but in our community we do work Americans don’t want to do.”

[earthside]

1. Sorry ... We Don't Speak Spanish

It will be difficult to take these folks very seriously if, indeed: "Most of the speakers addressed the crowd in Spanish ..."

[babylonsister]

2. If the majority of the audience is hispanic, what should they speak?

:eyes:

[earthside]

4. They Should Speak English

They were gathering to lobby Congress, of course the speakers should have spoken English.

If the audience doesn't understand English, they are going to have a very difficult time communicating to 98 percent of Congress members.

[babylonsister]

5. Lobbying Congress on a Saturday when they're in recess? Think again.

They were showing solidarity for their cause imo.

[TahitiNut]

6. Think of all the Eastern European, Asian, and Middle Eastern people who were excluded ...

... about an issue that supposedly only those for fair enforcement of immigration laws regard as a "Latino" problem ... at least according to those who scream 'racist' in any discussion.

:eyes:

So ... the "pro-amnesty" folks seem to think it's a Latino issue? What about shipping containers with the dead bodies of Chinese trying to "report for work"??? Yeah ... right ... fuck 'em.

:puke:

[zabet]

3. The Selling Out of America

First, I still have a hard time accepting that La Razza got to sit in on the writing of the Bill and actually had 'veto' power over proposed items in the Bill. The American people had no voice, all the politicians are corporate whores these days.
Second, I find it amazing that protesters that protest 'FOR' something Bush wants, get a prime spot on the Capitol Lawn. Unlike Anti-war protesters (Bush hates'em) who are relegated to a 'safe zone' some distance away.
Third, the Congressional and Senate members offices have been inundated with thousands and thousands of calls. They are still keeping the phone lines jammed and emails and snail mails every day. The vast majority of these are people who do not want the new Immigration bill. This means nothing to the politicians.