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May 1, 2008 8:34 pm US/Central
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Thousands Turn Out For Immigration Rights Rally
Mayor Daley, Jesse Jackson, Saul Arellano To Give Speeches
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Chicago Thursday afternoon to march in support of immigration rights for the third annual May Day immigration rights rally.
Saul Arellano riled up the crowd, leading a chant of "Yes, we can!" in Spanish.
Saul's mother, Elvira Arellano, an undocumented immigrant, was deported to Mexico last year after taking refuge for months at a West Side church.
Police estimate about 5,000 protestors hit the streets, carrying flags as they marched from Union Park to Federal Plaza for a huge rally.
"This city of Chicago is founded by immigrants in the past, present and future," Mayor Richard M. Daley said to the crowd. "We welcome immigrants to the city of Chicago."
"I came to the United States as an immigrant," said protestor Amarna Bugarin-Chazaro. "I had to go through the immigration process and its part of supporting those that are in at process."
Immigrants who are here legally want to spread the message that the system is flawed.
"It's basically impossible," said Alberto Higareda. "You have to either know somebody inside that can get the paperwork through, or you have to wait like the rest of them and try to get here illegally."
And CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports this is the first year the organizers have extended their message to promote gay rights, unity among races and to promote cultural diversity.
"We are a community that is directly impacted by the broken immigration system," said Inhe Thoi of the Korean American Resource Cultural Center.
"I am here because I was with Dr. Martin Luther King in the '60s," said Rev. Willie T. Barrow of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
It was a peaceful protest and one that organizers hope will make a lasting impression, especially in this election year.
Protesters spent the morning Thursday getting signs and banners ready for the march.
Before 10 a.m., several hundred people gathered at Union Park, at Ashland and Lake streets on the Near West Side. They heard speeches and received instructions, and were expected to create traffic delays while they march toward the Loop in the afternoon.
The marchers headed east on Washington Boulevard from the park and made their way to Dearborn and Adams streets, where they ended at the plaza across from the Dirksen Federal Building.
Demonstrators of all nationalities put together signs and assembled in Union Park to bring attention to workers' rights and immigration reform.
"It's not fair to be dividing families," said organizer Rosi Carrasco. "Families are here working, paying taxes. They have their own houses."
"They are people; they are mothers, they are brothers, they are children, and like any other child of God, deserve justice and equal rights," added Jennifer Hill of the Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance.
Activists hope to re-ignite the immigration debate in time for the presidential elections. They say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president.
Nevertheless, they took to the streets in Chicago and other cities across the country.
"We come to let Washington know we're still here. We're still fighting," said Jorge Guzman, 34, as crowds swelled in Union Park.
Guzman, a legal immigrant from Mexico, was among a group of about 100 marchers from north suburban Waukegan, where tension mounted after city officials applied for a federal program that would train local police to help enforce immigration laws.
He carried a giant hand-painted banner depicting man being handcuffed by immigration agents and a little girl crying and saying, "Where is my family?"
Two years ago, a May Day immigration march took over the Loop when some 300,000 people walked from Union Park to Grant Park. Organizers credit that day of action with stopping HR4437, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would have made it illegal to employ or help an undocumented immigrant.
The May Day immigration marches have become an annual tradition since then.
CBS 2's Susan Carlson and Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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