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Activists rally for immigrant rights
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Anti-war and civil rights groups gathered for a rally at the State Capitol Sunday afternoon to demand reformed immigration policies in the United States and to end the war in Iraq.
A Mariachi band, a hip-hop group, poets, protesters and speakers gathered at the first annual celebration of Indigenous People’s Day to express unity, protest deportations and express disapproval of Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney’s policies.
Similar rallies took place all over the country in a national day of resistance and solidarity among those affected by these policies.
Speakers urged about 70 listeners to “say no to the war at home, and no to the war abroad,” tying together activists pressing for immigrant rights, anti-war activists and community members simply concerned about their fellow Madisonians.
“Immigration is a very neglected topic in the [presidential] debates,” said Alex Gillis, rally organizer and secretary for the Immigrant Workers Union.
There are more than 12 million undocumented workers in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. While recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland Security raids have deported a large number of people, Congress has not passed comprehensive immigration reform.
Protesters were calling for additional dialogue and clearer positions on a solution to the immigration crisis from the presidential candidates.
“Government officials agree that there is a crisis, but no one can agree on how to fix it,” Gillis said. “We are asking our new leaders to commit to reform.”
The Progressive Dane student chapter, one of many student organizations present, came to the rally to protest the illegal immigrant raids in the United States, especially in Madison, and to object to Mahoney’s policies.
According to Gillis, Mahoney’s practice of notifying federal officials about the immigration status of detainees has stirred resentment and distrust with the police.
“Students really do care about what’s going on in the community,” said Adam Porton, a member of the Progressive Dane student chapter, in a speech at Sunday’s rally.
Porton said he is fully supportive of the families affected by what he called poor immigration policies.
“[Mahoney’s] policies only cause pain to immigrant families here in Madison,” Gillis said. “People are afraid to call the police. We’re asking Mahoney to get in with the community or get out.”
Gillis called on Mahoney to “respect the due process of every person in Dane County.” Mahoney could not be reached for comment; however, he has expressed that it is within rules and regulations to let ICE know about the status of his detainees. Even though he notifies the agency, it is up to them to decide how to respond.
“There are people from all over the world here; it’s what makes Madison so special,” said Sandra Rybachek, a rally supporter who works with immigrant families.
Rybachek added the current national and local policies not only violate human rights but are a detriment to the community.
“Families are broken up by these policies,” Rybachek said, pointing to an example from her work experience. “The dad goes to jail on a minor offence and gets deported, but the wife and children must stay behind.”
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“Students really do care about what’s going on in the community,” said Adam Porton, a member of the Progressive Dane student chapter, in a speech at Sunday’s rally.
True, but you’re loony if you think the average UW student = PD. And if you think that, I have a bridge I’m looking to sell.
Illegal aliens are criminals and parasites, one and all. Their very presence here and practically everything they do on U. S. soil is illegal. They need to be ferreted out, rounded up like cattle, punished for their numerous crimes, then booted back to whence they snuck in from with such extreme prejudice that they will never, ever think of violating our sovereignty again. Enough is enough.
“…but the wife and children must stay behind”
Why is that? Even if they are legal residents (or anchor babies) they should be able to accompany the father.
It is more than evident that there are fools who believe any hype that is being used against those without legal documents. I wonder if you would apply the same rhetoric to the presence of the population of the United States after its government violated treaty after treaty that were signed in good faith (almost all at the point of a gun) with the native Americans. Those violations make the very existence of probably most states ILLEGAL! Or is that “different”? This means that YOU would have to pack your ass to whence you came from, NO? Prove me wrong!!
Lets not even talk about the wholesale slaughter of men, women and children, destruction of entire villages, the deliberate spreading of diseases like smallpox to wipe them out, need I go on?
How convenient to point the finger and call someone “illegal”, yet evade and fail to speak of your own illegality. Lets hear your whiney story about these facts.
It is more than evident that there are fools who believe any hype that is being used against those without legal documents. I wonder if you would apply the same rhetoric to the presence of the population of the United States after its government violated treaty after treaty that were signed in good faith (almost all at the point of a gun) with the native Americans. Those violations make the very existence of probably most states ILLEGAL! Or is that “different”? This means that YOU would have to pack your butt to whence you came from, NO? Prove me wrong!!
Lets not even talk about the wholesale slaughter of men, women and children, destruction of entire villages, the deliberate spreading of diseases like smallpox to wipe them out, need I go on?
How convenient to point the finger and call someone “illegal”, yet evade and fail to speak of your own illegality. Lets hear your whiney story about these facts.
Round them up and ship them out!
Isn’t it funny how supporters of illegal aliens bring up the past of Europeans attacking the American Indians. When Mexicans took American Indians as slaves?
The pot calling the kettle black.
“How convenient to point the finger and call someone “illegal”, yet evade and fail to speak of your own illegality. Lets hear your whiney story about these facts.”
In order to do something that is illegal, a law has to be violated. Can you tell me what laws the Native Americans had in place in regard to immigration that would have made Europeans illegal aliens by them coming to North America? Please provide a link to any online source that explains the established immigration laws that the Native Americans had in place when Europeans started arriving in the 16th century.
By the way, we DO have established immigration laws today. Any foreigner who is in the United States without our government’s permission is classified as an illegal alien.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION has become a pestilence, that is eating away funding for welfare programs for citizens and legal residence. Believe it when I say that at least a $1.trillion dollars a year is payed out, to accommodate between 13 to 30 million illegal aliens. As an example Los Angeles, Sanctuary city residents paid out $11. billion dollars to support illegal alien welfare.
US taxpayers are supporting parasite businesses that hire illegal aliens.
Some five million fraudulent home mortgages are in the hands of illegal aliens, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The middle class already overburdened with war appropriation funds, is still force to pay for the education, free health-care and Federal, state welfare handouts for illegal criminals. SIGN UP FOR THE SAVE ACT(H.R.4088) enforcement ‘ONLY’ law at www.numbersusa.com.
SIGN JUDICIAL WATCH, A LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS PETITION, TO RESCIND ALL ‘SANCTUARY CITIES & STATES. www.sanctuarybusters.org/?source. www.numbersusa.com to Petition the SAVE ACT. For immigration facts not propaganda or lies,
PASS THIS ON COPY, PASTE & DISTRIBUTE FREELY
Report them and DEPORT them. Get out! Go back where you came from! We don’t need no stinkin’ Mexicans.
What the illegals and their supporters are saying is, “We want to break your laws and you need to approve of our actions. Your elected officials have sold you out and we’re the winners. So, get out and let the criminals take over. We will continue marching north as long as your leaders allow us to. They have been bought out by big business, foreign leaders, misguided churches and anti-American organizations. Your Constitution no longer counts. We, the low-skilled, poorly educated people will continue to pour over your border because we CAN.”
I’m glad the rally took place. It’s true that we have laws, but it’s also true that those laws are an absolute mess & are badly in need of reform.
As one of many “Anonymi” pointed out, deported people can take their spouses and children back with them. However, they may be returning to very unsafe situations — One thing our government doesn’t ever tell us, perhaps because they don’t want to know either, is how many deportations turn out to be death sentences.
I don’t know the number, but from what I hear it’s pretty high. And that doesn’t mean that the person who got deported from the US had come here as a safe haven from criminal prosecution back home. It means that a lot of the countries that send people here are suffering a lot of social disorder — gangs, drugs (look at the US market!), unemployement (thank NAFTA and CAFTA), and civil wars (many of them US proxy wars). The home countries are very unsafe, it’s partly our doing, and the high rate of deportations, especially of gangsters, is only making things worse.
And when things get worse at home, guess where people come? We need to have a look at our role in setting up this cycle, and see what can be done to put a peaceful and constructive end to it. Most folks would rather stay home.