By H. Nelson Goodson
October 8, 2013
Washington, D.C. - Today's immigration reform march, rally and gathering at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. was expected to draw between 30 to 100 thousand before the end of the day, but only an estimated 15,000 attended compared to prior events that were organized seeking immigration reform.
An estimated 15,000 people showed up at the National Mall to hear Los Tigeres del Norte perform and the speakers that were invited. After the Mall concert gathering, people marched to the Capitol where 160 people, including eight U.S. Congressmen were arrested by police for civil disobedience actions to draw attention for the need to pass an immigration reform bill, Reform Immigration for America reported.
The eight U.S. Representatives arrested were identified as John Lewis (D-GA), Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Al Green (D-TX), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). All those arrested on Tuesday were charged with obstructing, crowding and incommoding, according to D.C. police.
This year's rally events and civil disobedience tactics undertaken by organizers, public elected officials and immigrants have been taken less seriously by the U.S. House majority GOP, which has vowed not to pass any immigration reform bill for this session.
An estimated 15,000 people showed up at the National Mall to hear Los Tigeres del Norte perform and the speakers that were invited. After the Mall concert gathering, people marched to the Capitol where 160 people, including eight U.S. Congressmen were arrested by police for civil disobedience actions to draw attention for the need to pass an immigration reform bill, Reform Immigration for America reported.
The eight U.S. Representatives arrested were identified as John Lewis (D-GA), Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Al Green (D-TX), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). All those arrested on Tuesday were charged with obstructing, crowding and incommoding, according to D.C. police.
This year's rally events and civil disobedience tactics undertaken by organizers, public elected officials and immigrants have been taken less seriously by the U.S. House majority GOP, which has vowed not to pass any immigration reform bill for this session.
The next opportunity to deal with immigration reform will be in 2015, if any promising Democrat or Republican presidential candidate can convince they can be instrumental in passing a bill.
The yearly marches and the recent organized events nationally on October 5 throughout the country have drawn less attendance compared to the 2006 massive national marches. The lack of any advancement of a just immigration bill has left many wondering, if in fact a comprehensive bill will ever be passed by the House GOP?
The yearly marches and the recent organized events nationally on October 5 throughout the country have drawn less attendance compared to the 2006 massive national marches. The lack of any advancement of a just immigration bill has left many wondering, if in fact a comprehensive bill will ever be passed by the House GOP?
Several bills have been introduced in the House, but every time a debate is undertaken, the bill is weaken and division between the House widens making the bills mute.
Many immigration reform supporters see the attempt to resurge the massive marches to the 2006 level has steadily failed, simply because President Barack H. Obama and his administration have failed to influence a passage of a bill. Instead, in a few months, the Obama administration will make history by actually deporting at least 2 million of undocumented immigrants who were considered a low risk and non-criminal during the Obama presidency.
At today's rally, hundreds of people at the National Mall carried LULAC signs in support of immigration reform, but in reality LULAC does discriminate against undocumented students who would like to attend colleges or universities with the aid of LULAC scholarships. LULAC continues to deny access to scholarships for undocumented immigrants.
Last August in Milwaukee, the annual Mexican Fiesta sponsored by the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation including LULAC Councils 319 and 322 draws thousands of undocumented immigrants to its three-day festival and generates revenue from them for scholarships, but their children are deny access to those same scholarships.
The House GOP recently voted for a government shutdown leaving many federal workers without a paycheck and just the other day they approved a back pay for those workers.
Immigrants and immigration reform organizers, immigrant rights organizations, unions and clergy need to change their strategic action from marches and civil disobedience to a national economic shutdown to influence change. Undocumented immigrants and Hispanic-Americans have a spending and buying economic power in the hundreds of billions nearly reaching several trillion that hasn't been tapped to influence change.
An national economic shutdown will no doubt raise eyebrows and will most likely get major results for immigration reform.
Just a brief point, that the Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate in 2007, including the White House in 2008, but U.S. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2007 wouldn't allow any introduction of an immigration bill within the first six months of their control. President George W. Bush favored a comprehensive immigration bill and would have signed it into law, if Democrats would have approved one.
Then the Democrats lost control of the U.S. Senate and the issue of immigration reform gradually diminished as they also eventually lost the U.S. House majority as well.
A national economic shutdown by the nation's immigration reform movement, its supporters in the country and abroad is paramount for reform!
