Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Milwaukee Immigrant May 1st March Part Of 70 Nationwide Protest Marches Against Arizona's SB 1070 State Law

April 27, 2010

Milwaukee (HNNUSA) - A press release on Tuesday, organizers for the May 1st Immigration Reform march incorporated SB 1070 in this years event. Voces de la Frontera states, that ten of thousands are expected to gather next Saturday to help protest Arizona's SB 1070 bill that was signed into law last Friday by Governor Jan Brewer. The bill authorizes Arizona police to determine the legal status of suspects or citizens, if they have reason to believe thay are illegally in the U.S. Brewer by signing the bill made it a state criminal offense to be in the country illegally and undocumented immigrants, if convicted face 6 months in prison, $2,500 in fines and deportation once they complete their sentence. 
Anti-immigrant and amnesty groups are now trying to influence and pushing for Republican state representatives in Texas and other states, including Wisconsin to pass a similar immigration enforcement bill like Arizona.
In 2005 Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (Dem.), signed Act 126 requiring a Social Security (SS) for issuing a state driver's license and a state ID to applicants, keeping thousands of Hispanics and immigrants without a SS from renewing their licenses once they expired. Today, they're less than 300,000 Latinos living in Wisconsin and thousands of them are driving without valid licenses, according to the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Department.
In June, Wisconsin drivers are required to have vehicle insurance by law, affecting unlicense drivers even more.
In Milwaukee, a valid driver license, a state valid ID or property ownership documents proving city residency is required to use the self garbage waste depository center at the 3800 block of W. Lincoln Ave. Numerous Latinos in the South side are left without the service, eventhough they pay taxes. Anyone dumping trash or garbage in a city vacant lot or private property will be fined up to $1,000. These are just a few costly issues that have effected undocumented immigrants in the Milwaukee area left without a state license or ID's.
A state driver's license was first  established as a privilege to legally drive in Wisconsin and was never meant to become a U.S. citizenship ID card.
Immigration reform supporters will meet in front of Voces de la Frontera's office, 1027 S. 5th St. in Milwaukee. The Voces de la Frontera march begins at 12 p.m. and will proceed along W. National Ave. in the South side to Mitchell Park located in the 2500 block of W. Pierce St. in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee march is one of 70 marches being held throughout the country and the May 1st marches have been the largest gatherings in previous years, according to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera.
Last October 10, 2009, Voces de la Frontera held a march and less than 2,000 people participated, which the total cost exceeded $3,000 for permits and police escort, according to organizers.
Last week in Arizona, U. S. Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) opposing SB 1070 called for a boycott in Arizona, shortly after it was passed. Other Latino leaders in the U.S. have transpired similar appeals for Hispanics to initiate boycotts.
Currently, the state of Arizona is facing a $3 billion dollar deficit, and a study by the Perryman Group cited that if all of the estimated 460,000 undocumented immigrants would leave Arizona, the state would lose an estimated $26 billion dollars of economic generated income solely from immigrants.
President Barack H. Obama has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to determine, if Arizona's immigration enforcement law is legal.
On Tuesday, Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General said, the Justice Department and the U.S. Homeland Security Department are reviewing the legality of Arizona's SB 1070. Holder told reporters, the law can be abuse and the Justice Department will most likely challenge the state law in federal court.
The federal government can withold Arizona's federal funding, if it determines that it discriminates.
Arizona's Capitol police confirmed that swastikas were smeared with refried beans outside the glass doors of the Capitol building. Police suspect that protesters staying in the area had smeared the swastikas, while police weren't looking.
In the Midwest, H. Nelson Goodson, an Immigration Reform and Civil Rights Journalist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin called for Latinos to initiate an economic boycott on March 21, and lasting until an immigration reform bill is passed. Goodson said, "Latinos should begin to limit their spending to bare essentials only, to show and eventually manage our economic power which is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2013 in the U.S."
A successful economic boycott would no doubt result and influence immigration reform, we've managed to elect a majority of Democrats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in 2006, and millions of Latinos were instrumental in electing President Obama, a Democrat in 2008. So nationally, Latinos have united and are networking with each other resulting in political empowerment, which Arizona's immigration enforcement bill reinforces our efforts to continue to influence change in America along with President Obama.
Arizona's SB 1070 has helped to resurge our efforts to continue to challenge these types of unconstitutional and discriminatory laws enacted by Repubicans. But now, we need to actually manage our economic power to become a collective force to reckon with, according to Goodson.
The Arizona law has push the immigration reform issue forward and both Congressmen and U.S. Senators are moving to address the issue within months. Opposition from Republicans might stall immigration reform, they want to secure the border first before taking up the issue.
In Chicago, Illinois, the May 1st march will be held on Saturday and people expected to gather at 1:00 p.m. at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph, then they will march to Daley Plaza at 3:00 p.m., according to organizers.
On May 1st, immigration reform activists, organizations and groups have planned 70 marches throughout the country in support of immigration reform and workers rights in conjunction with May Day events. May Day which is synonymous with International Workers' Day or Labour Day, becomes a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by the unions, anarchist, and socialist groups.

List of May 1st Immigration Reform marches throughout the U.S.

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