Thousands march in LA to push for immigration reform
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E-mail Xinhua, May 2, 2013
Thousands of demonstrators, most of them Latinos, marched in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday to celebrate the International Workers' Day with focus on immigration reform.
May Day was originated in the United States but ironically it has not become a legal holiday in the country. However, many people took leave on Wednesday to join the march and rally to celebrate the event.
The march, cosponsored by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, labor unions, the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition and dozens of other organizations, drew many spectators along the street as demonstrators walked through downtown Los Angeles with banners, signs and chanting slogans such as "Full immigrant rights now" and "Fight for all families."
One middle-aged man pushed a car with images of three aliens showing a sign "We want to be legal."
A Hispanic man held a sign which shows "Immigrants create jobs and start businesses."
Those who started the Occupy Movement in 2011 also joined the march with one sign showing "We are still here 99 percent."
An African American women in her 20s told Xinhua she came for the rally to show her support to the undocumented immigrants who are demanding for a path to naturalization.
"May Day is a day for the workers, and immigrants who have worked in this country and have contributed to the U.S. economy should have their rights to U.S. citizenship," said the woman.
One Latino woman told Xinhua she was from Mexico and has worked in the country for several years. She wants her immigration status to be legalized.
"We hope President Barack Obama will keep his promise to push for the passage of immigration reform during his second term," she said.
"It was mostly immigrants who led the first May Day movement for the 8 hour day. Now a new generation of immigrant workers have revitalized and brought May Day back to life," Maria Elena Durazo, the head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which is sponsoring the march in downtown Los Angeles, told the press.
Peter Dreier who teaches politics and chairs the Urban & Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, wrote in his blog that May Day rallies reflect urgency of pending immigration reform.
Ironically, this celebration of working-class solidarity originated in the U.S. labor movement and soon spread around the world, but it never earned official recognition in this country, wrote Dreier.
But since 2006, American unions and immigrant rights activists have resurrected May 1 as a day of protest. This year's rallies have a special urgency. For the first time in decades, a bill for comprehensive immigration reform, which would bring many of the estimated 11 million living in the United States illegally out of the shadows, has a good chance to pass Congress, wrote Dreier.
The Los Angeles Police Department has tightened security along the parade route after the bombing in Boston. Bomb squad was seen searching the roadside along the parade route and more police presence than ever was seen in downtown Los Angeles. Endi
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