Immigration Rallies, Demonstrations, and Political Action
Immigration has become a hotly debated issue in American politics over the past few years; with livelihoods, family unity, and homes and communities at stake, there are strong feelings on both "sides" of the issue. Across the country, protesters and activists have taken to the streets to advocate for immigration reform-though the reforms they call for may be very different. From small gatherings in churches to rallies involving tens of thousands of people in major cities, these events illustrate the very real human element in the political issues surrounding the immigration debate.
On July 30, 2008, approximately 200 supporters of San Francisco's sanctuary city immigration policy and about 12 members of the Minutemen civilian militia group clashed at an immigration rally in front of San Francisco City Hall. KTVU News reported that at least one protester was arrested at the rally. Tension has been thick in San Francisco since a series of newspaper articles were published revealing that juvenile illegal immigrants had been sheltered from immigration authorities by the city after committing crimes.
On July 28, 2008, approximately 40 people gathered for a vigil on the Green in Morristown, New Jersey, calling for comprehensive immigration reform and the need to recognize the dignity of immigrant labor and identity.
The Daily Record reported that the vigil was organized by Wind of the Spirit, which is a local immigrant resource center. Participants formed a human chain, with each person wearing a t-shirt with a large capital letter on it. As they stood together in a semi-circle, their shirts read "No human being is illegal." Afterwards, the group walked in silence for nearly a mile to town hall and then back to the Green.
On July 27, 2008, more than 1,000 people gathered in Postville, Iowa to rally for immigration reform.
According to the Iowa Independent, most of the people at the rally came to call for an end to workplace immigration raids, such as the one at the Agriprocessors meat processing plant in Postville earlier this year. A few of the Mexican immigrants who attended the rally were dressed in traditional clothing to show pride in their heritage. Others who attended the rally stood on the other side of the street holding signs protesting illegal immigration and chanting "build that fence."
A third group also gathered in Postville for the rally, but did not choose a side on the issue of immigration. This group held signs that read "Ask me why you deserve Hell."
On July 5, 2008, the neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Movement, held an anti-illegal immigration rally in south Omaha, where most of Omaha's Hispanic population lives. The rally focused on Thrift World, a business that the group claims hires illegal immigrants, according to a report by KPTM-TV News.
The president of the group says that he respects other people's heritage but has a problem with illegal immigration.
On May 1, 2008, in what has become an annual May Day tradition, thousands of immigration reform activists held rallies across the country to demand citizenship opportunities for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who live in the United States and to also call for the end of ICE raids and deportations. Activists rallied from coast to coast in an attempt to bring immigration issues back into the spotlight since the economy has been taking center stage recently and left immigration reform in the shadows.
- The first nationwide May Day immigration rallies were held in 2006. More than 1 million people attended rallies across the country in 2006 with at least 400,000 in Chicago alone. This year the numbers were much smaller with Chicago, one of the largest rallies, drawing only 15,000 people to the rally at Federal Plaza. Many illegal immigrants are now too fearful of deportation to attend the rallies.
- This year in Tucson, Arizona, the Associated Press reported that only about 500 people attended the May Day immigration rally, a far cy from the 12,000 people who attended just last year. Organizers blamed the poor turnout in Tucson on overly aggressive enforcement by Border Patrol and police.
- In Houston, Texas, there were approximately 300 to 400 marchers for immigration reform this year, many less than in previous years.
- In Washington D.C., immigration activists called on Republican and Democratic national committees to have their presidential candidates push for immigration reform. Social justice organizations and immigrant rights groups were also in Washington on May Day to demand that the anti-illegal immigration measure in Prince William County be rescinded and rallied for an end to raids and deportations and for establishment of worker centers in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.
- In Oregon, approximately 1,000 people gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Salem to rally for changes in immigration and workplace laws within the first 100 days of the next congressional session. Many of the May Day rally attendees also called for Oregon to reverse a decision made by the Legislature in February that will require proof of legal residence in order to get a driver's license.
- In southwest Detroit, hundreds of people marched through the streets to rally for immigration reform carrying signs in protest of immigration raids and deportation printed in both English and Spanish.
- In Miami, a group of 75 people marched from the Little Haiti neighborhood to the regional immigration offices.
- In San Francisco, 400 people gathered to protest immigration raids and deportation.
- In Milwaukee, hundreds of people lined the streets and marched in the city to demand rights for immigrants who work and pay taxes.
- In Riverside, California, a group of two to three dozen student activists who are members of the UC Riverside chapter of MEChA planned a May Day protest outside of a Burger King restaurant to call for a boycott of the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant chain in protest of the low wages paid to primarily undocumented immigrant tomato pickers who supply the chain with tomatoes and work long hours without overtime pay and live in slave-like conditions, according to the Union Tribune.
- In Seattle, several thousand protesters marched peacefully downtown with Mexican and American flags to call for immigration reform and to protest deportations. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the downtown rally was one of several May Day rallies in Seattle. The ninth annual immigration march brought rush hour traffic to a stop downtown.
- In contrast, anti-war and immigration rights activists in Olympia, Washington broke windows in a pair of downtown banks and left graffiti in some of the marble halls at the domed Legislative Building, the state Capitol. Six protesters were arrested, and more than two dozen gathered outside City Hall.
- In El Paso, Texas, approximately 250 protesters walked from the Chamizal National Memorial, on Delta Drive, west on Father Rahm Street and then on to El Paso Street while chanting and waving U.S. flags. The May Day marchers in El Paso gathered to bring attention to the topic of immigration reform and to protest immigration raids and the construction of a border fence, according to a report by the El Paso Times.
- In McAllen, Texas, immigration activists joined in on the May Day immigration rallies by gathering at McAllen's Archer Park to fight for immigration reform. The activists held a vigil to honor immigrant workers as part of international workers' day, according to The Monitor. They hope to push for new laws to protect undocumented workers in the U.S. and create more worker visas.
- In Charlotte, North Carolina, approximately 50 people gathered for a May Day immigration rights rally at Marshall Park. Officials of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools said that a number of people participating in the May Day rally were students of the school district and that the absence from school would not be excused.
- In Dallas, Texas, approximately 50 people attended one of several immigration rights rallies planned across North Texas. At the Dallas May Day immigration rally, members of the International Coalition of Mexicans Abroad and May Day marchers called on local and national leaders to pass meaningful immigration solutions, according to a NBC5i News report. Most of the people in attendance were parents with their children, and the rally was peaceful.
- In Manchester, New Hampshire, immigration rights activists gathered at Manchester's City Hall Plaza for a "Liberty and Justice for All" rally. The rally was sponsored primarily by the New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees that is pushing for a national reform that creates a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented people who are contributing to the community and the economy, according to a report by WCAX-TV News.
- In New York, several hundred protesters gathered in Union Square for a May Day immigration rally. Immigration activists rallied to support immigrants' rights and to call attention to an increase in deportations by the Department of Homeland Security, according to the Epoch Times. Speakers at the rally criticized Congress and the Department of Homeland Security for the way immigration raids are being conducted. The Detention Watch Network was one of the organizers of the event.
On April 23, 2008, a Vietnamese Student Union held a rally outside Kerckhoff Hall at UCLA. The students held the rally to protest the eventual deportation of approximately 1,500 Vietnamese people in the community due to the U.S. and Vietnam Repatriation Agreement. The agreement was enacted on January 22 and calls for the deportation of Vietnamese residents who arrived in the U.S. on or after July 12, 1995, and who have received an order of removal due to criminal offenses.
According to a report by the Daily Bruin, the president of the Vietnamese Student Union, Daniel Pham said that many of the Vietnamese people will be deported because of minor misdemeanors such as shoplifting, urinating in public or writing a bad check and that most of the offenders have already served their time for the infractions.
On April 22, 2008, hundreds of union members in Jefferson City gathered on the Capitol's south lawn to urge lawmakers to impose sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants and to force employers to prove that their workers have legal status in the U.S. According to an Associated Press news report, Democratic lawmakers and Attorney General Jay Nixon spoke at the rally. Nixon is running for governor and promised the union members that he would represent their interests, including their concerns about illegal immigration.
On April 19, 2008, about 40 members of The Minutemen organization held a rally along Dakota Avenue in South Sioux City to call the issue of illegal immigration to the public's attention. The Minutemen say that they are concerned about open borders, eco-terrorism and the potential for another terrorist attack similar to the one on September 11, 2001. The organization says that members are not racist but are absolutely opposed to illegal immigrants. They claim that their only motivation is love for this country, according to a KTIV news report.
On April 12, 2008, mistreated tenants from several apartment buildings in Queens owned by Vantage Properties, LLC held a rally in front of the offices of Credit Suisse, a major Vantage financier. The protesters' goal was to draw attention to the abuses they have suffered in the rent–stabilized buildings in Western Queens. The tenants claim that they have been harassed through groundless legal proceedings, received inferior services than newer tenants, have had their rent checks returned to them for unfounded reasons and been threatened by the landlords because of their immigration status.
The tenants argue that the harassment and abuse is meant to force out the rent-stabilized tenants in favor of new tenants who pay market rate rent. New York State Senator John Sabini recently secured a $15,500 state grant to provide free legal assistance through the Immigrant Tenant Advocacy Project to the tenants who allege abuse, according to a report by the Queens Tribune.
On March 30, 2008, several hundred people gathered in Roseland in Santa Rosa, California in support of immigration reform. The demonstrators carried signs, banners and both Mexican and American flags and marched across town to rally at Old Court House Square. At the rally, speakers noted the need for changes in immigration laws. The Press Democrat reported that the march was meant to honor the late Cesar Chavez and to also fight for comprehensive immigration reform and the current issues involving immigrant farm workers.
Organizers had expected a much larger turn out for the march and rally, as past immigration marches in Sonoma County had drawn as many as 10,000 participants.
On March 24, 2008, 70 people, including high school and college students, attended a rally at the University of Maryland in College Park in support of a law that would grant in-state tuition to Maryland high school students who do not have legal immigration status. Maryland's Gazette.net reported that Senate Bill 591, which would allow many undocumented immigrants to go to college, is not likely to pass this year.
On March 11, 2008, a group of people gathered on steps of the City-County Building in Madison, Wisconsin. At the foot of the steps they had placed cardboard silhouettes representing 24 illegal immigrants recently seized by officials in the Madison area. The silhouettes had no names written on them, but instead read "sister," "mother," "worker" and similar denotations to represent who the immigrants were in society.
The Capital Times reported that the rally was called by the Immigrant Workers' Union to draw attention to increasingly frequent raids by ICE.
On March 10, 2008, a group of about 150 protesters showed up in Columbia, South Carolina to gather on the Statehouse steps to protest illegal immigration. Many of the protesters were members of a group called Americans Have Had Enough. The group said that lawmakers in South Carolina are not doing enough to make employers accountable for whom they hire and that illegal immigrants are taking jobs from American workers. The protesters called on lawmakers to force all employers to use a federal database system called e-Verify to make sure the people they hire are legal residents and are using valid identification.
On March 5, 2008, a group gathered to rally for immigration reform at the Alabama Statehouse. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Alabama State Senator Scott Beason spoke to the crowd who had gathered to support Senate Bill 426.
On March 1, 2008, a group of anti-illegal immigration protesters rallied in Jupiter, Florida outside of El Sol, a center that helps laborers find work regardless of their legal status. WPTV reported that the protesters waved American flags and that State Representative Gayle Harrell was in attendance to help push House Bill 8-21. The theme of the protest was against illegal immigrants, but many of the protesters, some of them legal immigrants themselves, said that they have no problem with legal immigrants.
On February 27, 2008, a public hearing on a bill to crack down on illegal immigrants drew a large crowd at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery. However, most of the state senators who were scheduled to listen to the comments did not show up. The Associated Press reported that 150 people came to the public hearing held by the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee but only 6 of the 11 committee members were in attendance and only 5 were present to vote. Organizers of the rally supporting the bill called the senators' apathy a disgrace.
On February 25, 2008 at the Maryland Capitol, a group of mostly Hispanic men and women gathered near the State House to rally against legislature regarding illegal immigration. The rally was scheduled for the eve of hearings on several immigration bills in the General Assembly. The bills seek to limit or deny public benefits to people who can not provide proof that they are in the United States legally, ensure that illegal immigrants can not qualify for in-state tuition and to cut funding for localities that do not enforce immigration laws.
The Baltimore Sun reported that the Maryland Minuteman Civil Defense Corps asked federal immigration authorities to come to the rally and check the participants for legal status. ICE did not attend the rally.
Also on February 25, 2008, a thousand immigrants from about 60 organizations gathered at the Capitol in New York to demand translators in hospitals, English as a second language classes and improved working conditions. The rally was part of an annual Immigrants' Day of Action.
Newsday reports that the immigrants are especially concerned about a bill in the Suffolk County Legislature that would put many illegal immigrants out of work by requiring that contractors prove that their workers are in the country legally. Following the rally, immigration advocates met with 60 lawmakers to lobby for citizenship initiatives and equal access to government services and health care.
On February 23, 2008, about 100 Hispanic activists met in Salt Lake City, Utah to decide on a plan of action to voice opposition of an omnibus immigration bill that would make it difficult for undocumented immigrants to find housing or jobs.
The Daily Herald reports that SB 81 would allow local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws, force employers and contractors to prove the legal status of their workers, make it a class A misdemeanor to transport or shelter an illegal immigrant and force landlords to evict undocumented immigrants.
Those attending the rally decided against a Capitol Hill rally, but instead decided to concentrate their efforts on contacting lawmakers and writing to Gov. Jon Huntsman.
On February 22, 2008 in Deerfield Beach, Florida immigration activists and college students from South Florida held a vigil outside an immigration center where 19-year-old Sarjina Emy and her two older brothers are being held. They have been at the immigration center in Deerfield Beach for the past seven months awaiting the outcome of their deportation case, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Emy and her brothers were brought to the United States by their parents when she was 4 years old. The family fled political persecution in Bangladesh and came to the U.S., but their petition for political asylum here was denied. For 15 years the family avoided immigration authorities, but at 5 a.m. on June 28, 2007 they were arrested by immigration authorities and placed in different detention centers. Emy's parents have already been deported to Bangladesh, but she and her brothers have been held at the Broward Transitional Center since their arrests.
On February 19, 2008, the Asbury Park Press announced that a woman who had struggled last year to organize an anti-immigration rally that took place in October has started organizing a second rally.
Diane Reaves has gotten approval to hold the anti-immigration rally on May 24 in Pine Park in Lakewood, New Jersey. Reaves hopes that this rally will draw more than the 60 people who turned out for her event last October. She ran into problems last year when the rally, which had been originally scheduled for August 25, had to be cancelled because the police department would not provide enough security. This time around the police have agreed to provide the necessary security for the event.
Reaves has asked New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, to speak at the rally. Sweeney is currently pushing legislation that would punish businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
On February 12, 2008, more than 100 people gathered at the Mississippi Capitol for an anti-illegal immigration rally while 50 members of the Mississippi NAACP were meeting in Jackson for their annual day of legislative lobbying. Two conservative talk radio hosts in Mississippi organized the anti-illegal immigration rally. According to a Sun Herald news report, some of people who attended the anti-immigration rally said that they were there out of concern for the nation's security and wanted to encourage legislators to pass anti-illegal immigration legislation regarding employment.
Many of the people at the anti-immigration rally were seen wearing bright yellow stickers that read "Stop Illegals."
On February 11, 2008, 500 Hispanic people marched around the state Capitol in Oregon in protest for more stringent rules for getting a driver's license in the state. A number of people advocating even tighter rules for getting a driver's license were also at the Capitol at the same time. Oregon lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would codify and executive order signed last month that requires proof of legal residence in the United States in order to get a driver's license in Oregon.
On February 9, 2008 in Monroe Park, Virginia, inRich.com reports that more than 100 people rallied to protest anti-illegal immigration legislation in Virginia.
People at the rally chanted "Sí se puede!" - Spanish for "Yes, we can!" and carried signs with messages such as "Stop Raids - Immigration Reform Now" and "Hate is Ignorance." The Virginia Immigrant Peoples Coalition organized the rally and speakers addressed the crowd in both Spanish and English. A small group of anti-immigration activists watched the rally from a distance, took pictures and spoke with homeless people, saying that illegal immigrants should not have rights when there are homeless Americans living in the park.
On February 6, 2008 in Danbury, Connecticut, approximately 3,500 people attended a rally to protest a partnership between Danbury police and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to an article by WW4 Report, the people who attended the rally gathered outside City Hall while the Common Council voted on an issue to invite ICE to deputize Danbury police and train them as immigration agents. Despite the efforts of the protests, the council passed the measure in a 19-2 vote.
The city had limited attendance at the meeting to 120 people, and more than 30 police officers stood outside the building during the meeting. No arrests were reported at the rally.
On February 4, 2008, the New York Times reported that anti-immigration activists have decided to rally together against Republican John McCain. Numbers USA, one of the biggest anti-immigration organizations in the country, reportedly sent out an e-mail to their 1.5 million members that warned of "political illiteracy" among Republican voters.
Roy Beck, the president of Numbers USA, said in the e-mail message that McCain only backs more border security if it is in connection with giving legal status to illegal immigrants.
Also on February 4, 2008, the Statesman Journal reported that both an immigration rally and an anti-immigration rally were held the same day at the Capitol in Oregon. The groups planned their rallies on February 4 because it was the first day of a legislative session in Oregon. Oregon State Police geared up to make sure that there would be enough police presence at the Capitol to keep the rallies peaceful.
No violence broke out at the rallies but the 75 anti-illegal immigration activists and the 1,500 immigration rights activists exchanged heated words at the Capitol. Members of the Oregonians for Immigration Reform were at the Capitol in order to collect signatures for an initiative that they would like to see on the November ballot that would cut access to voting and driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and allow them to be reported to federal immigration authorities by local, county and state police agencies.
CAUSA, PCUN and Centro Cultural of Washington County showed up to rally against two measures that call for proof of legal status in order to get a driver's license in the state and to register eligible citizens to vote.
On December 31, 2007, a group of mostly African Americans gathered at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Los Angeles for a debate on the effects of illegal immigration on the African American community. Minister Tony Muhammad of the Nation of Islam called for black-brown unity and was jeered by the crowd. Homeless advocate Ted Hayes was in attendance, but sat quietly at the back of the church because he was not asked to speak although he has been an activist who has tried to rouse blacks against illegal immigration.
On December 26, 2007, Voice of the People USA held a press conference to announce that they will hold a rally against illegal immigration at the Alamo on July 4, 2008.
On December 19, 2007, a group of about 100 immigrant-rights activists marched from a Phoenix furniture store to the City Hall in protest of the mayor's efforts to have the Phoenix police department make more arrests of undocumented immigrants. The furniture store in Phoenix has been the site of weekly immigration rallies. Some of the people who marched spoke out against Mayor Phil Gordon's decision to change a 20-year-old policy that prohibits the police from questioning people about their immigration status during routine encounters.
On December 14, 2007, there was an immigration debate on Main Street in Roswell, New Mexico. Immigration activists on both sides of the issue gathered in front of the Chaves County Courthouse to speak. The rally started with only about 5 students at 11 a.m., but many more people gathered in the afternoon. About 40 teenage protesters were there to call for fair treatment of minorities in school, while a few adults at the rally were there to praise the deportation of a pregnant high school student.
On December 11, 2007 in McAllen, Texas, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce held a rally to protest fences at the border. People who attended the rally were able to comment on the Environmental Impact Study for the Rio Grande Valley section of fencing. Several hundred people were in attendance, and a series of speakers explained why they thought the fencing was not a good idea, although they do agree that more border security is needed.
On December 10, 2007, nearly 150 immigration activists in Hartford, Connecticut marched several blocks to the federal building on Main Street to protest the immigration raids and to demand that the city show support for immigrants, regardless of their immigration status. The march was spurred by a November immigration raid in which 21 people suspected of being illegal immigrants from Brazil were arrested by city police and federal immigration authorities in the city's Parkville neighborhood.
On December 8, 2007, one person was arrested in Jupiter, Texas after confronting one of the 20 protestors who were picketing outside El Sol, which is Jupiter's Neighborhood Resource Center. El Sol has been in operation for 15 months and regularly helps migrant workers find jobs.
The group of protesters, Floridians for Immigration Enforcement, say that they will continue their demonstrations until they can shut down what they call "Jupiter's Illegal Alien Hiring Hall."
Also on December 8, 2007, roughly 50 supporters of the new and controversial immigration law in Oklahoma held "The Rule of Law" rally at the Character First Training Center. The law that they rallied to support effectively ends state benefits for illegal immigrants and makes it a felony to harbor or transport illegal immigrants. Speakers at the event argued that the new law is "valid and morally correct."
On December 7, 2007, anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 migrant workers in the Northern Mariana Islands turned out to rally against a new U.S. labor law. The law in question will not allow these workers to change employers and will force them to leave the U.S.-administered territory in the western Pacific Ocean and return to their native countries for six months every three years.
The protesters also demanded that Congress give their support to an immigration bill that would grant non-immigrant status to people who have been legally employed on the islands for at least 5 years.
On December 4, 2007, people from all around the United States gathered for a border rally that was scheduled for December 4-9 in Arizona. The people gathered to volunteer to be on the lookout for illegal immigrants, to report illegal border crossings to the authorities, and to set up posts from Douglas though Naco, Bisbee, the San Pedro River, Palominas, Hereford, Coronado National Park, the canyons in the Huchuca Mountains, and west to Lochiel.
On December 1, 2007 at one of the weekly immigration protests outside of a Phoenix area furniture store, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested eight illegal immigrants. This rally marked the sixth week of the immigration activists gathering outside the store to challenge Sheriff Joe Arpaio's enforcement of immigration laws.
Arpaio said that he thought that it was time to do something about the rallies outside of Pruitt's furniture store because the weekly protests were ruining the business. In October, the store had hired sheriff's deputies to keep day laborers away from the property. More than 100 protesters would regularly show up at the rallies, including officials from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
On November 17, 2007, supporters of the crackdown on illegal immigrants held the "Pro-American Rally" in Irving, Texas to counter a demonstration the week before that protested the city's practice of reporting information about inmates to federal immigration authorities. People at the "Pro-American Rally" said that they were not against immigrants, but they do object to people who are in the United States illegally.
Also on November 17, 2007, one branch of the Ku Klux Klan obtained a permit for an anti-immigration rally at the Cullman County Courthouse in Cullman, Alabama. Another branch of the KKK decided that they would also gather at the courthouse that same day - to protest the other KKK group!
On November 13, 2007, roughly 300 students and faculty gathered outside the auditorium at California State University after walking out of an immigration debate in protest of the "hate mongering" speech of Minuteman co-founder Jim Gilchrist. After the auditorium cleared out, Gilchrist was left alone on stage in his bullet-proof vest. Only about three dozen students remained in the auditorium that had been packed before he approached the podium.
On Tuesday, November 6th, 2007, about 100 students gathered outside a high school in Tucson, Arizona and then marched five miles to downtown Tucson to protest the arrest and deportation of a classmate and his family.
On November 1, 2007, teachers at Catalina High School searched a ninth grade student's backpack after they found that he was acting incoherently. The search turned up a bag of marijuana and police and the boy's parents were called. When his parents arrived, police asked to see their identification and they admitted that they were in the United States illegally with their two children.
The police notified the Border Patrol and the entire family was taken into custody and deported.
On November 1st, 2007, in Oklahoma City, hundreds of people showed up for a rally against Oklahoma's new immigration reform law. The crowd gathered at the state Capitol to renounce the new law that prohibits illegal immigrants from getting jobs and state benefits. The law also makes it a felony to harbor or transport illegal immigrants. Several state leaders and the Oklahoma NAACP president spoke at the peaceful rally. People in the crowd waved American flags, recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the national anthem and stood for a moment of silence.
On October 27th, 2007, there was an immigration rights rally at a furniture store in East Phoenix, Arizona. A group of people gathered in the street outside the furniture store to protest against the owner of the store.
The owner of Pruitt's Furniture, Roger Sensing, has turned to the Sheriff's office to crackdown on day laborers that hung around in the area outside his store. The group says that they will gather in front of the store every week until Christmas to protest.
One man who stopped traffic when he got out of his car to confront the protesters was arrested.
On October 26th, 2007, McHenry County College in Illinois went into lockdown after two groups clashed on immigration issues. A group of Hispanic students who were offended by anti-illegal groups on campus tried to protest an Illinois Minuteman Project seminar at the college's conference center.
The Hispanic students gathered at 5am and taped "Immigrant" signs to their backs. At 6 am they attempted to walk through the campus corridors to the conference center, but they were stopped by Minuteman and campus security. The college campus basically went into lockdown, with all doors of and leading to Building C being locked except for the room where the Minuteman seminar was being held.
On October 20th, 2007, in Lakewood, New Jersey, an anti-immigration rally was held at the Lake Carasaljo Amphitheater. An estimated 30 police officers were present at the event, including some special operations units. Between 85-100 people attended the rally to protest illegal immigrants in the country.
A previous rally had been scheduled for August 25th, but was cancelled when police refused to provide security for the event. Only one counter-protester showed up at the event, a woman with two small children and a young man who might have also been her son. The woman reportedly yelled protests during the speeches, but there were not any physical confrontations.
On September 18th, 2007, in Washington D.C. nearly 2000 people gathered at the first Immigration Voice rally to protest the delays in green card processing for almost 1.1 million legal immigrants who are skilled workers.
Immigration Voice says that the waiting list for green cards can be five years or more, and this wait stifles the careers and puts the lives of these immigrants on hold. These skilled immigrants are qualified to work as engineers, computer programmers, software developers and similar occupations, but without green cards they cannot work legally in the United States.
The protesters called for the number of green cards allotted for them each year to be doubled so that more of them can permanently stay in the country.
On September 7, 2007, a pro-immigration rally was held in Washington D.C. Organizers of the rally were disappointed that less than 5,000 people turned out for the event. They had expected "tens of thousands" of people to show up. Advocates fear that the pro-immigration is losing the momentum it gained during the spring rallies and that the movement's national organizers in Washington have lost touch with the people.
The We Are America Alliance of immigration rights groups had promoted the rally as a post-Labor Day demonstration to show Washington that undocumented workers in the United States are still waiting for Congress to pass an immigration reform bill that would allow them to work legally.
On September 1, 2007, there was an anti-immigration rally scheduled by VOTP (Voice of the People) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. VOTP built up the event beforehand and said it would be the biggest anti-immigration rally in Pennsylvania's history. 150 people showed up. Only one elected official, Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe spoke briefly at the rally.
At the same time, two blocks away, thousands of people of all races and ethnicities attended the Pennsylvania State Chili Cook-Off and completely ignored the anti-immigration rally.
On August 24th, 2007, a group of immigration activists gathered in Hartford, Connecticut to demand the release of a Moroccan man who had been dragged from his home earlier in the week by immigration officials. Said Zaim-Sassi had reportedly offered to voluntarily turn himself in, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement saying that all deportations are handled the same way and illegal immigrants are not given the option of turning themselves in.
On July 28th in Morristown, New Jersey there was a crowd of hundreds of people at Town Hall to support U.S. immigration laws, and a counter-rally of hundreds more in support of immigration reform.
The mayor of Morristown has been trying, unsuccessfully, to deputize his police force as INS agents so that they can detain illegal immigrants.
Some white supremacist groups attended the anti-immigration rally, while groups such as Antifa (Anti-fascists) and ARA (Anti-Racist Action) and the Progressive Labor Party participated in the counter-rally.
There was a huge police presence at the rally with more than 100 officers at the rallies and a police helicopter circling overhead. Five people at the counter-rally were reportedly arrested, and dozens more ticketed for disorderly conduct.
During the rallies at the Morristown Town Hall on July 28th, 2007, a much quieter and more peaceful vigil took place across town. About 100 people gathered outside a church to take part in the prayer vigil which was sponsored by several immigrant support organizations.
On June 29th in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, there was a pro-immigration rally in front of City Hall, demanding an end to the immigration raids. Protesters said they want a balance between law and mercy and for the officials in Hartford to stand up for all of its residents and put an end to the raids.
On the other side of the coin, the Hartford chapter of 'U.S. Citizens for Immigration Law Enforcement' say that they plan to push for more federal raids and will start a campaign against illegal immigrants that will include a hotline to call in tips on illegal immigrants.
On Capitol Hill on June 18, 2007 there was a pro-immigration rally. Lawmakers held a press conference at the rally and were seen standing in front of a tower of cardboard boxes. They pointed at the boxes and said that they held a million letters from individuals who support comprehensive immigration reform.
Univision radio personality Eddie 'Piolín' Sotelo launched the letter writing campaign in support of immigration reform, and the boxes were supposed to contain the letters written in the "Por la Reforma Migratoria con Piolín" campaign.
As Senators Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) spoke to the crowd, a reporter noticed that light was shining through the handles of the boxes. This prompted a check of the boxes that the senators had claimed were full of the letters and it turned out, they were all empty.
On June 18, 2007 300 protesters again gathered in Painesville, Ohio in a quiet, solemn march during which they made no demands. They were quietly protesting the loss of 43 members of their community during illegal immigrant raids in May. They chose to march on Father's Day because most of the illegal immigrants who were arrested were fathers.
On June 16, 2007 about 50 people opposing illegal immigration surrounded the American Civil Liberties Union office in Orange County to protest the group's lawsuit against the City of Lake Forest.
The ACLU is suing the City of Lake Forest, California because of enforcement of a law that prohibits people from standing on the sidewalks to show they are available for work. The lawsuit claims that this is an infringement of the day workers' right to free speech.
Lake Forest has repealed the ordinance in question, but the ACLU has not dropped the lawsuit.
The protesters claim that the day workers threaten their quality of life.
Also on June 16, the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps held a march at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
The march protested the current controversial immigration legislation being hotly debated in the Senate. The rally was part of a three day event sponsored by the group as a response to the Immigration Bill.
On June 4, 2007 two activists in Houston, Texas chained themselves to the entrance of the Houston Processing Center, an immigration detention facility, in an effort to expose the oppression and exploitation of immigrants. They were surrounded by about a dozen supporters.
Houston Police Department and firefighters responded to the scene and removed the protesters from the gate. They were arrested and face trespassing charges.
The group decided to hold the protest on June 4 to coincide with the G-8 summit in Germany, where immigration was one of the topics discussed.
On May 29, 2007 a group of religious leaders and immigration advocates visited the San Francisco office of Senator Dianne Feinstein to deliver thousands of petitions urging comprehensive immigration reform.
As the group demonstrated outside a security official asked them to leave the private property and told them that he did not care about immigration reform.
The demonstrators then moved about 10 feet away and continued their protest.
On May 21, 2007 in Painesville, Ohio a group of over 200 people gathered to rally in front of St. Mary Catholic Church to protest sweeping arrests by federal immigration authorities over the previous weekend.
The event was organized by HOLA, Hispanics of Lake and Ashtabula and appealed for fair treatment of illegal immigrants.
Protesters spoke and told stories of early morning raids with people being snatched from their beds. As the stories were being told the crowd chanted:"Aquí estamos, y no nos vamos!" - "We are here and we're not leaving!"
Los Angeles police were publicly criticized for violently breaking up a largely peaceful immigrants rights march on May 1, 2007.
The main rally, which was attended by approximately 5,000 to 10,000 people, was organized by the MIWON, Multiethnic [Immigrant] Workers coalition. There were hundreds of families including children in attendance.
Police reportedly fired 240 rounds of rubber bullets into the crowd at MacArthur Park, shot tear gas and beat protesters and journalists with clubs. At least 10 people were injured, seven of which were journalists.
LA Police Chief William Bratton admitted the actions taken by the police were inappropriate.
On Monday, April 23, 2007 at Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. 400 people gathered to rally against illegal immigration. The protest was 2 hours long and the group was smaller than had been anticipated, although many of the protesters had flown in from California and Arizona for the event.
They demanded that the U.S. make English its national language and take action to secure its borders. They rallied against any amnesty for illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. Many said they planned to spend the week lobbying members of Congress on the issue.
During the rally about two dozen people in favor of amnesty for illegal immigrants gathered across the park and tooted horns and blew whistles to drown out the voices of the people in the "no amnesty" rally.