The disorderly immigration protest rallies of 2006

This is a spinoff page that was a large subsection on the Immigration page.  In order to make pages load faster — all over this web site — sometimes I split larger pages into subsections that deal with specific issues.

This problem has several causes (in my opinion, be it ever so humble).  First, the immigration issue was allowed to take its own course for many years, and it got completely out of hand.  Now that there's talk of sealing the borders, the people who are here illegally already are raising a fuss.  Second, it's too easy to come to this country, give birth in a free public hospital, and get on the welfare gravy train.  And third, Spanish-language broadcasting makes illegal immigrants from Mexico (and other countries to the south) far too comfortable.  Multi-language facilities make assimilation unnecessary and irrelevant.


The latest:
Remember Those Massive Illegal Immigrant Rallies?  For years America has drifted away from assimilation, which has become an unspeakable word among the cultural elite.  Instead, we are told that we must recognize and celebrate the diversity of various groups without demanding any compromise from them.  This has hurt immigrants more than anyone else because many have become isolated in cultural ghettos without a proper command of English, the American political and legal systems or American history and culture.

Few at immigration rally.  The estimated 2,000 people who showed up fell significantly short of the 10,000 that organizers had hoped for and came nowhere near the more than 100,000 who jammed downtown streets April 10.

How The Broadcast Networks Promote Illegal Immigration.  Spurred by a passionate public outcry against the tide of illegal immigration, on December 16, 2005, the House of Representatives passed a bill to curb the flow of illegal aliens and give the federal government more responsibility for detaining and deporting them.  On that night, ABC, CBS, and NBC didn't cover the vote.  But when left-wing advocacy groups for illegal aliens organized large protests against the House bill in the spring, as the Senate considered its own immigration bill, the networks suddenly, fervently discovered the issue and gave the advocacy groups not a mere soapbox in the park, but a three-network rollout of free air time.

No Leniency for Illegal Aliens.  The protests in some cities by thousands of illegal aliens are a stunning reminder of how shameless the lawless have become.  It is bad enough that they came illegally and have no right to be here, but imagine their audacity to demand rights!  What is even more troubling is that there are politicians who will kowtow to such brazen displays of impudence.

Racism gets a whitewash.  Few things make liberals more uncomfortable than being confronted with the racism of politically correct minorities. … Well, this weekend, militant racism from another protected minority group was on full display.  But you wouldn't know it from press accounts that whitewashed or buried the protesters' virulent anti-American hatred.

Only more chaos will preserve order.  The "debate" over illegal immigration has become a contest to see who can hurl the most emotional taunts.  This is the "civil" debate George W. Bush asked for.  The illegal-immigration lobby has cast the argument as between the friends of the working poor, the sick, the halt, the lame and cherubic little children on one side, with Tiny Tim lifting his little voice (in Spanish, of course) with the invocation that "God bless us every one," and on the other side, Scrooge and his crabby malcontents, eager to consign the poor, sick, halt, etc., back to the hell whence they came.

Assimilation is the real debate.  Hypocrisy and paradoxes abound when it comes to illegal immigration. … This past week, thousands of Hispanic demonstrators, fearful of strict new immigration laws, chanted "Mexico" and for some reason waved the flag of the country they fled from and most certainly do not want to return to.

Assimilation is the key.  Fear that the newest batch of immigrants from Latin America can't, or refuse to, be absorbed into the cultural, social, and economic mainstream of American life drives much of the anti-immigrant sentiment so prevalent today.

Whose country is this?  Why are many illegal aliens who broke our laws to get here and who continue to break our laws to stay here, demanding that the United States not only allow them to remain, but support them with the taxes of law-abiding citizens?  Have we gone mad?

Illegal Immigration:  From late March to early April, hundreds of thousands of illegal Hispanic immigrants reminded Americans they may yet suffer a wave of violence like that which left Paris burning and the authorities wondering why their ill-conceived invitation for Muslims to immigrate to France exploded in their faces.

Marchers say gringos, not illegals, have to go.  While debates about guest-worker programs for illegal aliens take place in the corridors of power, in the streets of America's big cities no amnesty is being offered by activists calling for the expulsion of most U.S. citizens from their own country.

Students From More Than 20 Schools Continue Protests.  Despite school lockdowns and rainy weather, thousands of students from nearly two dozen Los Angeles campuses rallied again Tuesday [3/28/2006] against proposed immigration reforms, and some clashed with sheriff's deputies in Carson.

Thousands rally nationwide for immigrants' rights:  Congress is considering bills that would make it a felony to be illegally in the United States, impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.  The proposals have angered many Hispanics.

Mexico North?  As one of those American rarities — a Los Angeles native — I looked at recent, mainly Mexican protests against proposed restrictions on illegal immigration with more than just outrage over lost U.S. sovereignty.  I was also reflexively examining aerial photos to pinpoint where in L.A. those hundreds of thousands of Mexican-flag-waving demonstrators were marching.

It Really Is an Invasion.  Let's daydream a little.  Suppose that we were all shocked to learn early one Sunday morning that hostile foreign troops had landed at, say, Virginia Beach.

Flag Waving Banned at Colorado School.  Dozens of high school students protested a temporary school policy forbidding students from displaying the U.S. flag — as well as flags from other countries — amid racial tensions following immigration rallies.

Civil rights?  How about lawlessness?  Many claim that what lies beneath reform efforts is raw racism, leading to the view that the recent protests signal a new civil rights movement.  It's simply not true.  This nation's civil rights movement of the 1960s broke the back of white supremacy that prevented black Americans (who were citizens) from enjoying the rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution.

Thousands Rally for Illegal Aliens in NYC.  Thousands of immigrants formed a line stretching more than a mile long Saturday [4/1/2006] as they marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, waving flags from more than a dozen countries as they demonstrated against possible immigration reform in Congress.

Are we French yet?  For a moment, I thought I was hearing student protesters in France.  And that sound alarmed me, and activated me on immigration in a way no economic arguments could do.  I was hearing the sound of governance by street protests and mobs.

Hundreds of thousands turn out for immigration march in Dallas.  Hundreds of thousands of protesters banged drums, waived U.S. flags and shouted "Si se puede!", Spanish for "Yes, we can!", in a rally urging politicians to pass immigration reform that would legalize an estimated 11 million undocumented workers.

Immigration "solutions":  Activists who are organizing mass marches and demonstrations in cities across America may well be congratulating themselves on the huge numbers of people they can get to turn out to protest efforts in Congress to reduce illegal immigration. … [However] The Mexican flags and the strident assertions of a right to violate American laws are a danger signal to this society, as they would be to any society.



Who's behind all this?

Are Adults Organizing Student Walkouts?  Police say their efforts to keep kids in class Friday [3/31/2006] were tougher at some schools because of adult activists that seemed to be encouraging students to leave campus.  Action News caught up with some of those adults who were sporting white armbands, but many refused to identify themselves or explain who they were representing.

How DJs Put 500,000 Marchers in Motion:  Rally supporters, including immigrant-rights activists, churches, and labor and community groups, agreed that the active advocacy of the region's top Spanish-language radio personalities was critical in drawing the enormous crowds.

 Editor's Note:   Broadcasters are to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity as a condition of their station licenses.  Inciting people to riot would be a violation of that requirement.

NYC Area Rallies Have Distinct Democratic Flavor.  The rally in New York, organized mostly by labor unions, was one of dozens taking place across the country, marking what immigration reform supporters dubbed a national day of action for immigrant justice. … It is estimated that of the more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, nearly 500,000 live in New York City, and another 400,000 live in New Jersey.

Rally organizer tied to Marxist party.  One of the key organizers of the immigration protests and rallies nationwide, including yesterday's in Washington, is a group whose leaders are tied to the Workers World Party, a Marxist organization that has expressed support for dictators Kim Jong-il of North Korea and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

Domestic Terrorist Group is Behind Immigrant Rallies.  ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), a front for the communist/socialist Workers World Party, which was identified by former FBI Director Louis Freeh as a "domestic terrorist group," is behind the immigrant rallies taking place around the nation.

Who Funds Pro-Amnesty ANSWER Group?  Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), one of the groups involved in promoting the planned May Day protest and recent rallies of illegal aliens against the House immigration reform proposal, has strong ties to the Marxist World Worker's Party but maintains a low profile by operating through an unassuming 501(c)3 group whose funding sources are difficult to trace.

The Pro-communist Makeup of a Key Immigration Boycott Organizer, A.N.S.W.E.R..  On April 20th-23rd [2002] tens of thousands of radical activists converged on Washington, D.C. … According to the Establishment media, [they] were mostly determined idealists, opposed to globalization, the war on terrorism, and U.S. Middle East policies.  In truth, the motley mob of militants was led by a coalition spearheaded by the Communist Party, USA and a coterie of veteran extremists hardwired into the global terror network (as well as the Soviet KGB and Cuban DGI) for decades.

Unions Played Key Role in May Day Rallies for Illegal Immigrants.  Organized labor since the mid 80s has moved away from its historic opposition to high levels of immigration.  Whereas union leaders for decades had believed — and with more than passing evidence — that a huge influx of unskilled workers from abroad drives down wages, they have come to view immigrants as the salvation of the labor movement.

This immigrant rights march is brought to you by Miller.  Marchers had to duck into fast-food restaurants for water when they first took to Chicago's streets in support of illegal immigrants five months ago. … This time, as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co., as a sponsor.

Miller's bitter beer face.  Miller has been handing out tens of thousands of pesos, um, dollars to militant organizations, such as the more than $30,000 for planning, materials and advertising for the Labor Day "Immigrant Workers Justice Walk" in Chicago, reports the Chicago Tribune.

A confounding alliance of unions and illegal immigrants.  It was billed as the biggest act of civil disobedience in Los Angeles history — rivaled only by Californians' defiant use of appliances during peak hours back in the days of the energy crisis.  In reality, it was street theater in three acts with a confusing plotline.  Thursday's march [9/28/2006] encouraged unionization of hotel workers at the Hilton near Los Angeles International Airport, coupled with a call for amnesty for illegal immigrants.  Or, to put it plainly, unions demanded higher wages for workers, while throwing their weight behind an immigration movement that drives wages down.



At Columbia, Students Attack Minuteman Founder.  Students stormed the stage at Columbia University's Roone auditorium yesterday [10/04/2006], knocking over chairs and tables and attacking Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen, a group that patrols the border between America and Mexico.

"Mad as Hell" Coalition Tells US, "Do What Mexico Does".  A conservative advocacy group is speaking for Americans who think illegal immigration is out of control and ought to be stopped. … Freedom Alliance analyst John Dougherty said it's ironic that protesters are demanding rights for illegals in the United States that illegals don't have in Mexico.

Immigration and the law:  If the Department of Homeland Security were doing its job, it would have joined the Immigration and Naturalization Service, checking identification and employment records for at least some of the millions demonstrating for citizenship in recent days.  I thought illegals were afraid to show themselves and preferred the shadows for fear of getting caught.  No more.

Illegals need refresher course in law.  The nationwide protests are usually described as a reaction to a House of Representatives bill that would make it a felony to live here illegally or assist those who do. … Yet to watch the majority of marchers and their advocates is to realize that the protests are not aimed only at the House bill.  They are aimed at the rule of law itself.

Why don't we protest?  While thousands of illegal aliens and their supporters converge in major American cities waving Mexican flags and signs in Spanish, polls show the vast majority of Americans opposed to their demands.  So why don't we protest?  Why not simply show our strength and wave the American flag and signs in English?

Immigration protesters need to articulate their goal.  If you are appealing to Americans to give you the rights and privileges of citizenship, it is not a very good idea to hail Mexico, and an even worse idea to hold up signs such as "This is our continent, not yours!" and "Honkies are illegal aliens too."

Immigration madness:  There is only one group of people with less credibility on the immigration issue than Washington politicians.  It is the illegal immigrants protesting violations of their "rights" while parading the Mexican flag and disrespecting the one symbolizing the great nation from which they're demanding favors.

Just What About 'Illegal' Do They Not Understand?  Like many others, I watched television as the protesters waved their Mexican flags, then changed those flags to American flags, then yelled "Si Se Puede," then yelled "Yes, We Can," then demanded the same rights as American citizens, then said they were Americans.  Well, no, they are not.  When someone breaks the laws of this country to enter it, for whatever reason, whether it is to work, or obtain free medical care, free food, welfare, a driver's license, and reduced college tuition, they are still not Americans.

Illegal Immigration Is Not a Civil Right.  Liberalism's delusions have reached their most ridiculous extreme in the protests by illegal aliens.  It was ridiculous enough that American liberals thought they were entitled to things that other Americans had worked for and earned, but now America is being told that illegal aliens — people who have no right to be here at all — should have the rights of citizens.

Postmodern "Rights" en Los Estados Unidos:  With last month's mass demonstrations of illegal aliens, the United States has entered the era of postmodern rights.  The protesters looked like conventional rights demonstrators, with their raised fists, chants, and banners.  But unlike political protesters of the past, the illegal-alien marchers invoked no legal basis for their claims.

Se habla entitlement.  The recent pro-immigration demonstrations around the country have been a major turnoff.  There is something not convincing about illegal immigrants demonstrating to claim they have inalienable rights to come here, be here, work here, become citizens here … and make all these claims in Spanish.

Illegal immigrants must agree to close the borders and assimilate.  In their hurt and anger, the initial televised marchers carried Mexican flags and shouted about ethnic pride.  This only turned off tens of millions of American viewers, who scoffed in response, "If Mexico is so great, why come here in the first place?"



"The Great American Boycott" of May 1, 2006:

I didn't notice anything unusual that day, except that the freeways were a lot less crowded.  Maybe they should have a boycott every Monday.

May 1 protest aims to "close" cities.  Pro-immigration activists say a national boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood U.S. streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it debates reform.

The Editor says...
It is no great coincidence that the protests are scheduled for May 1st.  International Workers' Day or May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups.*

Why May Day?  May 1 is the date for the "Great American Boycott of 2006" calling for the legalization of millions of illegal aliens.  Couldn't a better date have been chosen — one not tainted with the image of communist May Day celebrations from Moscow to Havana?  "On May 1, the world working class displays its strength in demonstrations and strikes," explains communist writer Andy McInerney in the Spring 1996 issue of Liberation & Marxism.

It won't just be Latinos marching.  Muslims and Arabs feel that their civil rights are slowly eroding with legislation such as the Patriot Act, but when they march on Monday, they are mostly doing it in support of their Muslims and non-Muslim Latino friends. … There are about 250,000 Filipinos in the United States who have "overstayed" their visit by not extending their visas. … There are 5,000 to 7,000 undocumented immigrants from Ireland [in the Chicago area].

Raid Rumors Spark Fear Among Immigrants.  Rumors of immigration roundups have prompted thousands of illegal immigrants to stay home this week and are making some afraid to participate in a national immigration protest planned for Monday [5/1/2006].

[Good!  Criminals should live in constant fear.  I hope the rumors are true.]

The backlash has begun, even before May 1st.

May Day March is Likely to Backfire on Protesters.  If the folks who want to allow illegal immigrants to become legal residents and eventually citizens are lucky, the planned May 1 general strike to pressure Congress in their direction will be a bust.  That's because even more than mass demonstrations, the work, school and shopping boycott is likely to backfire — pushing public opinion toward stricter border security without making it possible for such immigrants to remain in the United States legally.

A Day Without Illegal Aliens?  It's a Start!  May 1 is going to be "A Day Without Illegal Aliens."  This is supposed to frighten you.  Why?  Because you are an American — weak, pampered, spoiled and allegedly incapable of taking care of yourself.  You need the illegal alien servant class just to survive.

Heartland uprising:  Homemakers for America founder and president Kimberly Fletcher knows when she got passionate about illegal immigration.  It was when she turned on the television earlier this spring to see illegal immigrants on the news marching with Mexican flags.  "When you see people marching in the streets encouraging others to be truant, disrupting traffic, vandalizing property, yelling out anti-American comments, waving Mexican flags in aspirations of becoming citizens of this country — that tends to get people upset."

Be sure to visit SOS Borders, a web site which offers this sound advice:  "We know Americans are frustrated and even angry at what has been going on the last few weeks but please remember that the Nation is watching you as you rally and we must take the higher ground if we want to be heard."

More backlash:
The great American turnoff.  When supporters of illegal immigration threaten to boycott all stores, it makes me feel like shopping.  When I see TV reporters interview demonstrators, who announce that they are undocumented, I can only surmise that illegal immigrants have nothing to fear from immigration authorities.

A Day Without an Illegal Immigrant.  What would a day without illegal aliens really be like?  Let's try to imagine it.  On May 1, millions of illegal aliens working in meat-processing plants, construction, restaurants, hotels, and other "jobs Americans won't do" are supposed to stay home from work to show the importance of their labor to our nation's economy.  Doubtless, there will be some inconvenience if that happens, but there is another side to the story that is not being reported.

Does Multiculturalism Really Ring True?  It is an outrageous insult to the rule of law that something like 12 million people are illegally in our country, with every night bringing more.  However, illegals are just part — and perhaps not even the most important part — of the immigration debate.  Most public conversation centers on two things, security and economics.  I propose that non-assimilation is a greater threat to our culture and way of life than either.  Further, the implications of this subject go well beyond Americanizing new arrivals, whether legal or not.

The 'May Day' Immigration Protests:  On May 1 scores of illegal immigrants and their facilitators will stage economic boycotts to complain about congressional efforts to enact meaningful immigration reform.  Protest organizers insist that they "will settle for nothing less than full amnesty" for the estimated 11 million individuals that illegally reside and work in the United States.

Post-boycott news and analysis:

Few restaurants closed during boycott.  Many immigrant-owned taco stands and a few fast-food outlets were closed on Monday, but most U.S. restaurants reported no shortage of busboys and cooks despite a national boycott and major protests by pro-immigration activists.

Counter-protesters make their voices heard.  Counter-protesters at the immigration march in downtown Orlando stood in the hot sun Monday to make their own voices heard.  And the message, by in large, was illegal immigration is hurting America.

Defining immigration:  Protesters in Dallas were fervently waving American flags (with a few Mexican flags peppered in) on May 1, but only 1,500 showed up compared to the 350,000 to 500,000 who showed up for the April 9 demonstration.  The downturn in support disappointed rally organizers and surprised media pundits who predicted the boycott would cause serious problems.  In most cities, migrants simply went about their work.

Rallying immigrants look ahead.  Sign after sign carried through Chicago streets on Monday [5/1/2006] during a massive immigrant-rights rally said:  "Today we march, tomorrow we vote." ... [But] numbers of protesters don't equal numbers of voters:  Immigrants, legal or illegal, can't vote.  Only immigrants who are naturalized US citizens have that right, and among eligible Hispanic voters, turnout rates have traditionally been low.

The people spoke; but what did they say?  I knew these Hispanic marchers, all 6,500 of them by early estimates, were making a strong statement about immigration reform.  But I wasn't quite sure what their main beef was.  Did they want the United States to turn its back on the fact so many of them were here in this country illegally?  Did they just want to be left alone to collect their minimum wages and go on with their modest but productive lives?  Did they even want to learn the English language?

Primo de Mayo:  In endorsing the proposed May Day strike by all illegal immigrants and their political allies, the Democrats in the California State Senate may have thought they were taking a principled stand "about the tremendous contribution [illegal] immigrants make on a daily basis to our society and economy."  Ironically, however, by supporting the boycott, its proponents have called for an action that will succeed only in producing a significant backlash against the cause they purport to advance.

Immigration and Assimilation.  The demonizing of immigrants by some in the name of either protecting our sovereignty or fighting the war on terror is as unconscionable as the specter of illegal immigrants marching in the streets, waving foreign flags and burning ours while demanding rights they supposedly deserve for having flouted our laws in coming here.

The Lesson of Uno de Mayo:  Uno De Mayo has come and gone with none of the predicted effects -- no drastic plunge in retail sales, no nationwide economic earthquake, the only businesses shut down the ones that agreed to do so beforehand.  But still we're assured the marchers have "made their point".  We can probably be excused for thinking that the point would have been made if only three marchers had bothered to show up.

Protest marches in 2007:

Hundreds rally for immigration reform in Houston.  As police officers blocked traffic along the route from Immaculate Conception Church to Mason Park, the marchers blew whistles, banged on drums, and chanted through loudspeakers as they carried U.S. and Mexican flags, and a variety of banners.

Immigration Spring.  Yesterday's May Day immigration demonstrations dominated cable TV, but they were more sound than substance.

Illegals Marching Again?Issuing New Demand.  After their 2006 Communist May Day march, illegals and their handlers are at it again.  They have resumed their "we want our rights" march.  1 May has become the illegals in the US new protest-against-the-US-and-its-"European"-population-day.  Last year, the illegals carried Mexican flags, flew the US flag upside down at half-mast and demanded US citizenship. … This year, the illegal aliens are not only demanding immediate US citizenship but that the US stop arresting and deporting them.

Stupid Protest Marches:  A Mexican Cultural Thang?  Millions of illegal aliens from Mexico marched through American cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas etc. to demand citizenship and all benefits accruing thereto.  Many were even foolish enough to carry the Mexican flag and signs reading 'Yes we Can," in Spanish.  Keep in mind we are talking about criminals who, by law, should have been rounded up and kicked out of the country.

What Part of 'Illegal Immigration' is Confusing?  [On May 1, 2007] hundreds of thousands of immigrant-rights supporters marched the streets of major cities throughout the country demanding rights such as citizenship for the more than 12 million illegal immigrants who are currently in our country.  The illegal immigration issue has always elicited strong emotions from many people but there is something fundamentally wrong with the idea of rewarding those who have broken our laws with something as precious as citizenship.

Shortage of Farm Workers?  Why Not Use Protesting Illegal Aliens?  To begin with, growers should not hire illegal aliens.  To do so is a violation of U.S. laws, and is a major reason why America is saddled with upwards of 38 million illegal aliens right now.  Secondly, how can there be a "shortage of workers" in a nation that is overwhelmed and overrun by illegal aliens?  For example, just last spring, Americans were horrified at the sight of huge crowds of illegal aliens marching through our streets to protest the rule of law.

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Updated May 15, 2008

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