Utah Latinos Headed to D.C. for March

None by KCPW

Immigration Activists to March on Capitol May 19th

(KCPW New) For weeks Tony Yapias, head of the Utah Latino Project, has been fielding calls from the Hispanic community wondering what's next in the fight for immigration reform. First came the historic march on April 9th. Then the immigrant boycott on May 1st. Now, Yapias says Utah Hispanics are headed to Washington, D.C. for a march on the Capitol May 19th.

"May will be a pivotal month for immigration reform," says Yapias. He is finalizing his own travel plans and hopes at least a dozen Utahns will join him on the trip. The May 19th march is being organized by the National Alliance for Human Rights which also spearheaded the national immigrant boycott. Yapias says support for the D.C. rally is snowballing and Latino activists say it could rival the size of Civil Rights marches in the 1960s. He hopes to meet with members of Utah's congressional delegation while in D.C. President Bush has asked Congress to have an immigration compromise by Memorial Day.

1. Ken Adams said:

This should be more publicized so that more people can show up to the march in DC

2. Lori Harding said:

What are you marching for? Are you infavor of managing our illegal immigration or allowing it to happen?

3. Winston Smith said:

I march in favor of comprehensive immigration reform that would establish an expedited legalization process. Not a blanket "amnesty" to however many undocumented immigrants happen to be present in the United States on a particular date, but a gradual process of "earned legalization" though which immigrants could become legal permanent residents of the United States by meeting a combination of qualifying criteria such as years of stable employment and payment of taxes, degree of English proficiency, and the establishment of family and community ties, clean records, etc.

I march against xenophobic anti-immigrant/enforcement-only proposals like Sensenbrenner's HR 4437 which criminalize immigrants and their families, and even the people and organizations that assist them.

4. Lew Jeppson said:

As a general principle I favor open borders, but mass immigration from Latin America is a time bomb for whites, particularly working class white men. Such are the only demographic group without affirmative action protection or economic leverage. Almost all immigrants from Latin America are entitled to preferential treatment in hiring, promotion, and admissions, even if they are not citizens. For this reason I am very uncomfortable with what is going on. Moreover, Latino leaders in the U S won't tolerate any adjustments to affirmative action law or practice.