Immigrant Rights Defended in Big March in Los Angeles and at Venice High
School
By Jim
Smith
The Anglo world was stunned,
March 25, when between half a million and two million people – by various
estimates – turned out to protest in downtown Los Angeles against a
Congressional bill that would make unsanctioned immigration a
felony.
HR 4437, as passed by the House of
Representatives, also calls for up to five years in prison, and seizure of
property, for anyone who “assists” an individual without documents.
It also mandates a 700-mile-long wall along the border with
Mexico.
The huge turnout in Los Angeles
shocked even the organizers of the march and rally who had originally planned
for 20,000 protesters.
The bill also
sparked a widespread high school walk out. Several hundred walked at Venice High
on March 27, and at least 100 walked out in pouring rain the next day.
Even if HR 4437 is modified by the Senate,
it may have inadvertently have sparked a movement for immigrant rights.
Posted: Sat
- April 1, 2006 at 08:06 PM