We the People...

Courtesy:REUTERS/Lucas Jackson


If we can take one thing away from yesterday's marches around the country, it is the fact that immigrants, illegal and legal and many American citizens want a change to the current immigration system. A sea of people from San Diego to Boston, Seattle to Miami marched in support of the opportunity for undocumented immigrants to receive legal status in this country. Eugene Robinson, who has written a serious of opinion pieces on the issue of the movement continues with another intriguing piece.

The march was huge and energetic, LA Times estimated 200k at City Hall
and 400k on Wilshire, but ask anyone who was there and they would tell
you that this was much bigger then La Gran Marcha, I would say
anywhere between 600k to 900k were walking on Wilshire Blvd. You
couldn't quite tell because people kept coming, and Wilshire is much
bigger then any of the downtown streets.



A great mix of people representing different groups: Mexican, Central
American, Irish, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, etc. were all present. The
crowds were boisterous, focused and energetic, with the exception of
the usual crazy Larouchies, some Socialists, a few religious groups
and senoras selling weenies con tocino; the smell was intoxicating
since we didn't each much yesterday.



We even ran into actor Martin Sheen, everyone was scrambling for an autograph, so I didn't say hello... pobrecito, I figure if a guy like him is going to take their time out to protest, let him do it in peace.

When we got to La Brea and Wilshire, Paquita La Del Barrio was singing and everyone from Bill Weir, to Anderson Cooper and Lourdes Garcia were reporting. It was packed to the brim with people and I think the most interesting part of it all was the fact that thousands of immigrants were streaming into Hancock Park and Larchmont, catching rides to get back home in the most upscale section of the city.

Instead of addressing the concerns of immmigrants, everybody has been fixaxted on the news that Gloria Trevi, Ivy Queen and several other D-list musicians helped make a spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner. George Bush and Antonio Villaraigosa have come out against the anthem, and while I tend to agree with them on this issue, particularly because Gloria Trevi is trash and I am not a fan of reggaeton... Latinos were not the first to write a spanish version of the national anthem. In fact, a version was commissioned by the U.S. Bureau of Education in 1919, and the State Department has four versions that are listed on their website. Whats up with that Georgie, how come you can't get your own government to keep the anthem in english?

Contact your members of congress and keep the fight going, ask for comprehensive immigration reform.

AP Photo/Jennifer Szymaszek

In Mexico, as these groups were marching, Mexican citizens were protesting American businesses and the American government. How hypocritical is it that Mexicanos are protesting American companies of creating this broken immigration system? Make no mistake, American businesses with a thirst for cheap labor are a magnet that attract immigrants to come here, but one of the biggest factors pushing these immigrants to migrate is the economic disparity that persists in sending countries like Mexico.

If Mexicanos want to protest, they should march on Los Pinos or the Zocalo and demand that their government work to redistribute the wealth that Mexico earns on the backs of countless impoverished workers. The Mexican government under Vicente Fox continues to be a disgrace, a sham that was sold as a force for reform, but has continued to be more interested in fattening the wallets of their power brokers in Monterrey. May'be today, Kate del Castillo might be regretting her words of support.



In order for us to make a permanent change to slow the cyclical patterns of migration that lead to the disenfranchisement of power migrant groups in receiving countries, we need to equalize the economic environments of sending countries. In laymans terms, we need to make Mexico, El Salvador, etc. countries with greater average living standards.

Back to the protests... my parents marched in Fresno, CA in support of immigration reform. They said it was the largest protest that has ever taken place in the San Joaquin Valley. Check out my mom who was quoted by the Fresno Bee in their lead article.

Courtesy: Eric Zamora/Fresno Bee

Great to see people turning out in farm country to express their opinions.

Finally, I leave you with a small tidbit of a speech given by Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's Colbert Report, at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday.



Take a look and enjoy some hard jabs directed at the President.