Thread: Countdown to May Day: The open borders circus returns

Countdown to May Day[i]
The open borders circus returns
April 29, 2008 09:50 AM[/b]

On Thursday, the reconquista militants, illegal alien lobbyists and lawyers, multicultural mau-mau-ers, and assorted anti-border goons will turn out across the country for another May Day open borders spasm.

Los Angeles police are undergoing crowd control training to prevent a repeat of the Macarthur Park riots last year. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,4648420.story

College students and Catholic priests will join the “Gran Marcha” to demand amnesty and non-enforcement of immigration laws.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_9090230

In Madison, Wisconsin, illegal immigration apologists will protest Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney’s practice of notifying federal officials of jailed inmates’ immigration status. http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/283718

Bay Area anti-war activists are riding the wave and will join open-borders groups to harass both recruiters and ICE agents. Because it’s all about sticking it to The Man.

In Chicago, open-borders exploiters will be bringing back poor Saul Arellano:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...1,349706.story

Looking smart in a yellow dress shirt and a navy blazer, Saul Arellano was a reluctant speaker at the service in his honor Sunday.

Although he stood on an orange chair to deliver a brief statement in Spanish, the language he says he’s most comfortable with after nearly 8 months living in Mexico, the 9-year-old son of controversial Immigration activist Elvira Arellano was shy in front of the television cameras pointed in his direction.

But the 30 people gathered at Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood doted on their “Saulito” all the same..

Saul—who has lived with his mother in Mexico since shortly after her deportation in August—returned to Chicago on Sunday to participate in Immigration-reform events scheduled for later this week, said Emma Lozano, his legal guardian in the United States…

…During the service, Saul also presented flowers on behalf of his mother to Flor Crisostomo, 29, who has taken sanctuary in the church over the last three months. Crisostomo, a friend of Elvira Arellano, was ordered deported in January after being arrested in a 2006 Immigration raid on IFCO Systems, where she worked as a pallet loader.

After the service, Saul said he was a little nervous about participating in the May 1 protests scheduled in Chicago. “I want to be a regular kid, but I can’t,” he said. Then, he elaborated in Spanish to Lozano. “He said he should be a child who is free, not a child who has to continually struggle to defend his mother,” Lozano translated.

Tell that to the mother.

Stay tuned for much more.

Here’s a partial list of open borders protests taking place nationwide:

MAY 1 : National Day of Action in Defense of Immigrant Families



ARIZONA

Tucson
March and Meeting
South Gate Shopping Center
8 AM

Phoenix
March
Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum to State Capitol
8:30 AM

CALIFORNIA

Berkeley
Rally and March
Sproul Plaza to City Hall
11 AM
Castroville

Chico
Meeting/March
City Hall
3 – 8 PM

Davis
Meeting and March
UC Davis Campus
11 – 2 PM

Farmersville
March
Memorial Park
4 PM

Fort Bragg
March
La Bamba Store
9:00 AM

Fresno
Meeting and March
Medical Center- Fulton Mall
4 - 8 PM

Los Angeles
March
Olympic/Broadway
12 PM

Los Angeles
March and Meeting
3rd/Vermont to McArthur Park
2 – 7 PM

Los Angeles
March
5 Points to City Hall
11 AM

Madera
Meeting
5 PM

Martinez
Vigil and March
Martinez Marina
5:30 PM

Modesto
Mitin
Hatch Road/Crow Landing
10 AM

Mountain View
Vigilia
The Worker Center
Calvary Church
5 PM

Oakland
March
Fruitvale Plaza – along International Boulevard
9 AM

Sacramento
March
Hiram Johnson High School to State Capitol
10 AM

Salinas
Four marches
Constitutional and Laurel
12 PM – 5 PM

San Diego
March
Chicano Park to City Hall
10 AM

San Diego
Rally
City College
3 PM

San Francisco
March
Dolores Park to Civic Center
12 PM – 3 PM

San Jose
Rally and March
Mi Pueblo Shopping Center
4 PM

San Rafael
Vigil and march
Community Center – Canal
6 AM – 10 AM

Santa Rosa
March
Old Albertsons Shopping Center
11 AM

COLORADO

Denver
March
Lincoln Park
10 AM

ILLINOIS

Chicago
Rally and March
Union Park
Chicago
10 AM

INDIANA

Indianapolis
March
5 – 9 PM

KENTUCKY

Louisville
Meeting y march
Courthouse to Jefferson Park
5 – 7 PM

MASSACHUSSETTS

Boston
Meeting and march
Boston Common
4 PM

Chelsea
March
City Hall to Central Square
2 – 5 PM

MICHIGAN

Detroit
Meeting
Downtown

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis
Marcha
Lake Street
4 PM

NEVADA

Las Vegas
Mitin
US Federal Courthouse
7 PM

NEW JERSEY

Elizabeth
Meeting
Warinanco park
11 AM

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque
March
Tiguex Park
3 – 5 PM

Santa Fe
March
Downtown – De Vargas Park
4 – 7 PM

NEW YORK

New York City
Meeting and March
Union Square Park to Federal Plaza
4 PM

NORTH CAROLINA

Raleigh
Peaceful Gathering
Legislative House

OREGON

Portland
Meeting and March
SW Park
4 PM

Salem, OR
March to State Capitol
11 AM -3 PM

PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh
March and Meeting
Downtown to Mellon Square Park
4 PM

TEXAS

Austin
Meeting
State Capitol
5 – 7:30 PM

McAllen
March
Municipal Park
6 PM

San Antonio
Meeting and March
Plaza del Zacate
12 PM – 7 PM

WASHINGTON

Bellingham
Meeting
Cornwall Park
12-6

Mt. Vernon
Meeting and March
11am

Seattle
March and meeting
Seattle Center Fisher Pavillion
3 PM

Yakima
March
Miller Park
3:30 PM

WISCONSIN

Madison
March and meeting
State Capitol
12 PM

Milwaukee
March
12 PM

CANADA

Vancouver

March in Solidarity with Migrants, Migrants and Undocumented
Clark Park to Grandview Park
6 PM

APRIL 29

Modesto, CA
Rally-March
Gil’s Plaza
3 PM

Mendota, CA
March of Children
10 AM

Jersey City, NJ
Rally
Journal Square
3 PM

APRIL 30

Los Angeles
Immigrant Rights Teach In
Antioch University
2 PM

New York
Public Forum on STRIVE Act
LaGuardia Community College
1 – 2:30 PM

Shouldn't ICE be on standby, correct? If they aren’t they should be. I don’t owe anybody anything and when I am in a charitable mood don’t come to me demanding more… Looks like they still didn’t get the memo that Americans, regardless of their stance on illegal immigration, will not be coaxed into supporting amnesty by bully tactics, no matter how many marches they hold! Perhaps they should take this moxie and rally/march in their own countries! After all that’s the country that owes them anything at all.

I noted with some satisfaction that no “march” was scheduled in Oklahoma … says much to that state’s efforts …

Secondly I hope others noted their new name for these “marches” is now

“National Day of Action in Defense of Immigrant Families”

Guess what you idiots … LEGAL IMMIGRANT FAMILIES are already defended and protected by the laws of this country …

Conveniently they are leaving out the word “ILLEGAL” …

Immigrant rights activists join protests nationwide
By SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago

CHICAGO — Thousands of immigrants and activists gathered in cities across the country Thursday to demand comprehensive immigration reform, including citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

Turnout has fallen sharply since the first nationwide rallies in 2006, when more than 1 million people — at least 400,000 in Chicago alone — flooded streets and brought traffic to a standstill.

Activists hoping to re-ignite the immigration debate in time for the presidential elections 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 planned to take to the streets from Miami to Dallas to Los Angeles for May Day protests. "We come to let Washington know we're still here. We're still fighting," said Jorge Guzman, 34, as crowds swelled in Chicago's Union Park before a march to a federal plaza downtown.

Guzman, a legal immigrant from Mexico, was among a group of about 100 marchers from the Chicago suburb of 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 a man being handcuffed by immigration agents and a little girl crying and saying, "Where is my family?"

Immigration reform did not resonate with voters in primary elections who overwhelmingly cited the economy as their top concern. Immigration legislation has stalled and been defeated in the Senate, and presidential candidates have not extensively addressed the issues.

Democratic presidential rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supported a 2006 bill, sponsored by Republican candidate John McCain, that offered illegal immigrants legal status on conditions such as learning English. All three also have supported a border fence.

In Washington, D.C., immigrant rights groups and social justice organizations were demanding that Prince William County, in northern Virginia, rescind its anti-illegal immigration measure. They also want raids and deportations to end, and are calling for worker centers to be established in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

Activists also plan to deliver a letter to the Republican and Democratic national committees, asking the presidential candidates to enact immigration reform.

In Tucson, Ariz., a march organized by a coalition of immigrant advocate organizations and labor union locals was expected to address border and immigration issues, ethnic and racial justice and education, health care and jobs.

In Milwaukee, factory worker Miguel Tesillos, 29, was among hundreds who lined sidewalks waiting for the march to begin. "Our people, we pay taxes, we pay the same as a citizen," said Tesillos, who has a Green Card. "Maybe the new president can see this point, and do something for us," he said.

In Chicago, as the crowd of about 1,000 marchers passed several union halls, union members came outside to cheer.

Margarita Klein, 48, of Chicago, a union organizer, noted that May 1 is International Workers' Day worldwide. "It's a historic and significant day," Klein said. "Immigrants' rights are workers' rights. It's not two separate issues."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/...XFNlw1r9VH2ocA

Union and states try recruiting farm workers from Mexico
By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 29, 4:55 AM ET

HURON, Calif. - Weary of waiting for Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, the United Farm Workers hopes to recruit Mexican laborers to pick crops on U.S. farms.

The union's efforts to import temporary workers under an existing government program follows similar moves by lawmakers in Arizona and Colorado, who are also trying to create new pathways to bring in foreign field hands without approval from Washington.

This month, UFW President Arturo Rodriguez signed an agreement with the governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan to help recruit local residents to apply for temporary jobs on U.S. farms, all of which would be covered under union contracts.

Under the new pact, government field staff in Michoacan will distribute information on U.S. labor protections, especially in rural towns known for sending a large number of their residents north.

In exchange, the union will negotiate contracts with U.S. growers willing to guarantee that legal workers' rights will be respected on both sides of the border, UFW International Director Erik Nicholson said.

The UFW got involved after hearing that Mexican recruiters were charging people as much as $5,000 for short-term contracts under the existing, but rarely used federal guest worker program, Nicholson said. "Agriculture is a global industry, so we're building an international infrastructure to advocate for these global workers," Nicholson said. "Workers need to know about their rights on both sides of the border."

Immigration raids and employer penalties have led to a shortage of workers in the nation's largest farm states, leading many in the agriculture industry to conclude that growers can't get their products to market without a stable supply of workers from abroad. But with Congress deadlocked over immigration reform, the question is under what conditions the workers will be hired — legally or illegally.

The farm labor force in the U.S. currently numbers about 1.6 million people, 70 percent of whom are thought to be undocumented, according to people in the industry. Only about 70,000 farm workers were brought in from abroad last year for the short stints permitted under H2-A visas issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The UFW wants to increase those numbers by matching willing workers in Mexico with U.S. farmers ready to use the H2-A program. That would in turn help grow the union's membership, which has been in decline.

Legislators in Arizona are considering a proposal that would let employers recruit workers through Mexican consulates, if they could document a labor shortage. A similar Colorado bill aims to help chili and watermelon farmers hire foreign staff by eliminating the bottlenecks in the federal program.

Both put the Labor Department in an awkward position, and could be challenged in court, said Leon Sequeira, its assistant secretary for policy. "I don't think anybody would object to organizations trying to prevent recruiters from charging workers exorbitant fees," Sequeira said. "But it's new territory when you are talking about states setting up their own guest worker programs and letting aliens into the country."

The federal government is trying to stave off the state-by-state approach by tinkering with its existing guest worker program, and released a set of proposed changes in February.

___

WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — Washington tree fruit buds have been hit by some of the worst frost in years, but crops had been expected to be so large that harvests will be about the same as last season, industry officials say.

Despite an unusually cold spring and record low temperatures in some areas, losses do not appear to be widespread, although damage may be significant in isolated areas of Eastern Washington's fruit-growing region.

"This is one of the worst frost seasons we've had in the last 15 to 20 years, but frost protection appears to have been pretty effective in most areas," said Kirk Mayer, manager of the Washington Growers Clearing House Association in Wenatchee.

"With huge bud set, we can afford to lose 10 to 15 percent and still have a good crop," Mayer said. Some growers had no damage and others had up to 75 percent crop loss, he said.

Damage appears greater to cherries than pears and apples because cherries were further along in bud development. Apple growers had anticipated a record 105 million- to 110 million-box apple crop this fall, but now it likely will be closer to last year's 98 million boxes, Mayer said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/...Cr5hc8jA1H2ocA

I say no legal right to be here --- get the hell out... I don't care where the hell you came from, that's the rock you need to crawl back under...shut down the borders -- on the canadian and mexican side.

Illegal immigration activists and anti-war activists lead the parades today, but May Day attracts all grievance-mongers.

Here’s another all-purpose, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink “list of demands” (I feel like I’m at Oberlin again) from the “National Immigrant Solidarity Network:” http://www.mayday2008.org

On May Day 2008, National Immigrant Solidarity Network is calling for a multi-ethnic, decentralized, multi-topic and multi-tactic national day of mobilization to support immigrant workers rights.

1. No to anti-immigrant legislation, and the criminalization of the immigrant communities.

2. No to militarization of the border.

3. No to the immigrant detention and deportation.

4. No to the guest worker program.

5. No to employer sanction and “no match” letters.

6. Yes to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

7. Yes to speedy family reunification.

8. Yes to civil rights and humane immigration law.

9. Yes to labor rights and living wages for all workers.

10. Yes to the education and LGBT immigrant legislation.


We acknowledges that there’ll be multiple call to actions from across the country to organize May Day 2008, and each coalition will present their sets of demands. We should respects each other organizing and encourage and supports everyone’s issues:

1) Multi-ethnic, Decentralized and Multi-topic mobilization: while everyone will pledge to support immigrant workers rights at May Day 2007, local groups can choose to includes any other topics for their mobilizations: civil rights, anti-war, Katrina, labor rights, health care…., etc.

2) Decentralized Multi-Tactic May Day organizing: We will encourage everyone to organize their actions at May Day, but will let local groups to decide what they want to do at the day: march, boycott, strike, lunch action, vigil, community event, conference or congressional lobby day, etc.Understanding the connections between our individual conditions of life and the lives of people everywhere in the word allows us to come together and organize across all borders.

WE NEED to link the connections between: wars in Africa, south America, Asia, Iraq, Palestine & Korea with sweatshops in Asia as well as in Los Angeles, New York; international arm sales and WTO, FTAA, NAFTA & CAFTA with AIDS, hunger, child labors and child solider; multinational corporations and economic exploitation with racism and poverty at home–then we can win the struggle.

Let’s all come together, on May Day 2008, to build a new immigrant rights and civil rights movements!

---

Things heating up in Chicago. The Trib estimates about 2,000 have shown up to demand non-enforcement of our immigration laws. Many students are playing hookie to attend:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,2051541.story

“We want to change the immigration laws. We have to support our parents,” he added. Marlene Rivera, 15, a Kelly High School freshman, boarded buses along with about 200 other students at the school.

She and others from a school club called Latinos United spent the last month preparing for the march. Standing with three friends who held Mexican flags, she said they wanted elected officials as well as the presidential candidates to know that youth supports changing immigration law. “We want to help out and let them know that it’s just not the grown-ups, but young people too,” she said.

Elizabeth Quiroz, 14, another Kelly freshman, said many of her classmates have been born in the U.S. to undocumented parents and live with the fear their parents may be deported at any time. “If parents get sent back to Mexico, then the kids are going to be on their own,” she said.

No, the kids are free to return with their parents.... put that youthful enthusasim and energy to use and rally, march and protest to improve things in their own countries!

Marlene Rivera, 15, a Kelly High School freshman, boarded buses along with about 200 other students at the school

So our tax dollars paid to have them miss school and be taken at our expense to protest their treatment ( or mistreatment ) by our goverment ?

Compare their "List of Demands" with how the Goverment of Mexico handles their immigrant population ( legal and illegal )

http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-inf...s-imagine.html

http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-inf...ty-policy.html

The summary....

Immigrants and foreign visitors are banned from public political discourse.

Immigrants and foreigners are denied certain basic property rights.

Immigrants are denied equal employment access.

Immigrants and naturalized citizens will never be treated as real Mexican citizens.

Immigrants and naturalized citizens are not to be trusted in public service.

Immigrants and naturalized citizens may never become members of the clergy.

Private citizens may make citizens arrests of lawbreakers (i.e., illegal immigrants) and hand them to the authorities.

Immigrants may be expelled from Mexico for any reason and without due process.

Have you voted ??


http://www.bigbigforums.com/vent-whi...ation-u-s.html

http://www.bigbigforums.com/vent-whi...bill-poll.html

The MSM focused on the diminished numbers of May Day protesters earlier this week, but those who did turn out were as militant as ever. Blog correspondents from across the country sent in their coverage.

Here’s a taste of what you missed–with thanks to all the bloggers, photographers, and readers who sent in their submissions.

From Pacific Northwest photojournalist Byron Dazey, reconquistadors are alive and well (or whatever) in Seattle:

http://www.myownside.com/2008/05/03/...ch-in-seattle/

Here are some crowd shots to see the size of the march.



I’m going to dispense with the usual shots of the communist/marxist/socialist/blah-ist groups. They come to every march or protest and attach themselves like tumors to the various causes and peddle their propaganda. There are a few shots of the usual suspects in the full gallery of pictures linked to below. Instead I am going to just let some of the signs speak for themselves.

We finally made it to the Seattle Center, where they had a hip hop band playing.

The rhetoric from the lead singer was very disturbing, and I found the racist overtones offensive. Sorry for the trouble with the place names below. I couldn’t make out the references, and I certainly couldn’t find any of these places on any credible map.

This land is NOT America! This land will NEVER be America! This land NEVER was America! This land is (Anawok?). This is (Turtle Island?). This is (Los ??)… It really is the brown people that made this country! The only ones that can really claim this country!

When I say “Where are my brown people at?” You say “Right here!” When I say “Where are all my African people at?” You say “Right here!” When I say “Where are ALL my people at?” You say “Right here!”… Whose land this is? (Our land!) Whose? (OUR land!) That’s right, this ain’t never going to be America!

You can see the full gallery of photos here.
http://www.creativeflashes.com/gallery/4847076_hKgPX

But don't question their patriotism ...

Urban Infidel braved the moonbats in Union Square, NYC:
http://urbaninfidel.blogspot.com/200...uare-2008.html

I went to the May Day festivities at Union Square Park after work today. I don't know what to say other than it was a completely revolting experience. Basically a point-and-shoot, yep.

Full un-edited slide show here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/4689605...31257260/show/

The Michael Graham Show went undercover and mingled with America's youth on Boston Common for the May Day-Labor-Immigration-Impeach Bush-Free Sacco and Vanzetti-Down with America rally.....and we brought microphones..

http://michaelgraham.969fmtalk.mobi/...lly-recap.aspx




Antihippies in Portland snapped photos of the May Day mayhem. http://antihippies.wordpress.com/200.../may-day-2008/


Why can’t the nutballs leave our flag alone?

Moderate Risk has more Portland.
http://www.moderaterisk.net/2008/05/...8_kinda_ti.php

This fellow tried to carry off some signs to distribute, but there were a lot of leftovers. A lot of money went into a march that did not have a lot of support.


Surreality abounds at the Portland May Day March. Angels looking over Big Brother's shoulder.



Sleeping through the revolution. With protests in the background, some people just wanted to take a nap in the sun.



After the march started this stack of signs was left behind after the circus moved on. Is it sacrilege to leave Obama signs on the ground, or just sloppy management. Maybe next time they'll invest a few bucks on a table to keep their gear out of the dirt.

-------


More Chicago coverage from Flying Debris.
http://flyingdebris.blogspot.com/200...ay-day-in.html

Commies, Commies, Everywhere - May Day in Chicago

Well, it's May Day, the international day of communist celebration and here in Chicago the local open-borders types got together with the local communists to march on the loop. These photos were taken on my walk from the Chicago Board of Trade Building to the Jackson Street el stop on the Red Line, a route that takes me right through the Federal Plaza.

"They Say Go Back - We Say Fight Back!" Lovely
and ironic ?



"Making Revolution Through Emancipating Humanity", commie-chick chic is black on black with that uplifting message. The tee-shirt message also directs you to this hardcore communist web site, the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. http://revcom.us/ Sadism takes all types.



In Chicago, people who face tough economic times become bitter and show up downtown vending conspiracy based pamphlets from folding tables.




More Denver coverage from Slapstick Politics.
http://slapstickpolitics.blogspot.co...ally-2008.html


[center]


Arrived early and snapped a few pics of the main protest banners--but the basic message hasn't changed





Turnout was down from the 75,000 in 2006 and the couple thousand from last year, with around 100 and a few trickling in as the event got going around 5pm, just as I was about to leave.

There was limited coverage from the local MSM, starting with an ode to "workers": http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9125806

A small group of mostly Latino immigrants gathered at Fletcher Plaza in Aurora on Thursday to celebrate May Day and the rights of workers.

"We don't want to let this day pass without celebrating workers around the world," said organizer Homero Ocon, who immigrated to the United States nine years ago, got a green card and now owns a commercial painting company, Champion Painting, in Denver.

Ocon said he wanted to raise awareness of the difficulties that immigrants face but he primarily wanted to create some positive goals by gathering volunteers to clean up graffiti and paint the homes of the elderly, the poor and the disabled. "We're going to change the face of what people think about immigrants," he said. "We're fighting for tolerance and unity."

It wasn't just about workers, however, as banners demanding amnesty and an end to workplace raids fluttered in the chill evening breeze:

Another organizer, Horace Kerr, said his goal for the May Day workers, which he termed "Cry of the People" was to make conditions better for immigrant workers. "We want ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to stop the raids against immigrant workers," he said.

"We want the government to stop sending 'no-match' letters when a worker's name and Social Security numbers don't match. The next thing, there's an agent at the door and they take the worker away.

"We want the government to move quicker on processing documents for the workers. And we're against the expansion of the immigrant detention center in Aurora, which now holds about 400 people and will be expanded to hold 1,100 people.

"We struggle daily getting our basic rights to education and health care, which are sold to us as privileges," he said. "The American continent is such a rich continent, but it is filled with poor people."

As the gray and rainy evening progressed, a few more people drifted into the plaza at East Colfax Avenue and Elmira Street, drawn mostly by the amplified music and the cloth banners hanging from lampposts.

The chilly air caused the crowd to bundle and huddle together as police on Colfax drove by uninterested.

Love that last part, not that the police observing these events have ever been interested in more than keeping the peace. The activists clearly outnumbered the immigrants, "undocumented" or otherwise at this gathering.