Over 40,000 souls gathered to demand Fair Immigration Reform!
Sunday April 9th, 2006 will be a day to remember for Minnesota. This was the day of real unity and solidarity for a cause that is fair and vital to our society. All over the nation thousands and thousands of immigrants as well as immigrant supporters have gone out to the streets to make their voices heard. Si se Puede! (Yes we can!) became the phrase that resonated from corner to corner, coast to coast. There is no doubt that a new movement for civil and human rights is rising again in United States as immigrants organize and unite to demand what they have earned with their hard work and the sweat of their backs.
Minnesota wanted to say Presente! and show that we are also united. Our state politicians got a taste of what our community is willing to do when their human dignity and basic human rights are denied by biased, discriminatory and racist laws. Our community is awakening and will soon demand a change that looks inevitable.
Thousands of souls gathered at the cathedral as yellow school buses kept arriving with people from all over the state. Flags from all over the world swung high in the sky as people chanted and smiled at each other. The capitol was shaken by the powerful unified voice that reached it when a 40,000 people strong crowd arrived to its steps.
This was a great success and victory for Minnesota, for immigrants, for their supporters and allies, and all the organizations that tirelessly worked to put this together. This march definitely has set the ground for a new movement that should not die and will continue to grow. Thank you to all of you that participated in this great event. Thank you for all the support as we continue the struggle for a real comprehensive and humane immigration reform.
We have to continue with the momentum and keep contacting our representatives as much as we can. Anti-inmigrant groups are flooding the senators with calls and we can do the same. Right now the senators went on a two week break and immigration reform is waiting. One thing we have to keep in mind is that we do not want just any kind of reform.
We want a reform that offers:
Right now there are three bills being considered by the senate:
- The bill recently passed by the Judiciary Committee, based largely on the McCain-Kennedy bill which provides legal residency and a path to citizenship, along with a guest worker program with some guarantees of working rights. This bill also contains some restrictions on due process rights, like judicial review of immigration cases.
- The "compromise" bill sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that is more restrictive in providing for legal residency and due process rights.
- The bill of Sen. Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, which basically follows the hateful policies in the Sensenbrenner 4437 bill.
Call your senators and urge them to support the senate judiciary committee bill and take a leadership role on this issue. This an election year and we have to pressure them to act according to values and moral standards. Let's make our voices heard as we do on the streets! Call, fax, e-mail, visit! Do not stop until we rise in victory!
Senator Mark Dayton
Federal Building, Suite 298
Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111
tel: 612-727-5220
fax: 612-727-5223
Senator Norm Coleman
2550 University Ave W, Suite 100N
St. Paul, MN 55114
tel: 651-645-0323
fax: 651-645-3110
PASS THIS ON TO YOUR NETWORKS
Sincerely,
Jesús Torres
Community Organizer
Centro Campesino Inc.
Visit http://www.centrocampesino.net for more information
###
Minnesota wanted to say Presente! and show that we are also united. Our state politicians got a taste of what our community is willing to do when their human dignity and basic human rights are denied by biased, discriminatory and racist laws. Our community is awakening and will soon demand a change that looks inevitable.
Thousands of souls gathered at the cathedral as yellow school buses kept arriving with people from all over the state. Flags from all over the world swung high in the sky as people chanted and smiled at each other. The capitol was shaken by the powerful unified voice that reached it when a 40,000 people strong crowd arrived to its steps.
This was a great success and victory for Minnesota, for immigrants, for their supporters and allies, and all the organizations that tirelessly worked to put this together. This march definitely has set the ground for a new movement that should not die and will continue to grow. Thank you to all of you that participated in this great event. Thank you for all the support as we continue the struggle for a real comprehensive and humane immigration reform.
We have to continue with the momentum and keep contacting our representatives as much as we can. Anti-inmigrant groups are flooding the senators with calls and we can do the same. Right now the senators went on a two week break and immigration reform is waiting. One thing we have to keep in mind is that we do not want just any kind of reform.
We want a reform that offers:
- Permanent residency and a path to citizenship for the over 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.
- Family reunification
- Full respect of human, civil and labor rights.
Right now there are three bills being considered by the senate:
- The bill recently passed by the Judiciary Committee, based largely on the McCain-Kennedy bill which provides legal residency and a path to citizenship, along with a guest worker program with some guarantees of working rights. This bill also contains some restrictions on due process rights, like judicial review of immigration cases.
- The "compromise" bill sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that is more restrictive in providing for legal residency and due process rights.
- The bill of Sen. Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, which basically follows the hateful policies in the Sensenbrenner 4437 bill.
Call your senators and urge them to support the senate judiciary committee bill and take a leadership role on this issue. This an election year and we have to pressure them to act according to values and moral standards. Let's make our voices heard as we do on the streets! Call, fax, e-mail, visit! Do not stop until we rise in victory!
Senator Mark Dayton
Federal Building, Suite 298
Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111
tel: 612-727-5220
fax: 612-727-5223
Senator Norm Coleman
2550 University Ave W, Suite 100N
St. Paul, MN 55114
tel: 651-645-0323
fax: 651-645-3110
PASS THIS ON TO YOUR NETWORKS
Sincerely,
Jesús Torres
Community Organizer
Centro Campesino Inc.
Visit http://www.centrocampesino.net for more information
###
posted by Centro Campesino at
11:21 AM
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