By Shawna Thomas

While many of last night’s Los Angeles-area immigration marches coalesced into one, the San Fernando Valley march stayed separate and strong. I got there just as the march was beginning. The primarily Latino marchers had their banners and signs and the local news channels had their cameras and satellite trucks. I just tried to dive into the middle of it all with my entanglement of camera, microphone, tripod, headphones and extra tape.

In a previous post, one of my fellow journalists remarked about how she felt when she realized she was one of the few black people at the downtown march about a week ago. The sounds of Spanish flew back and forth with little English breaking it up.

This time it was different. (more…)

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 Video from Los Angeles, April 10 (1m 47 sec) [1:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

By William Etling

When I arrived at Olvera Street on April 10, news vans already lined an entire block of nearby Main Street. Cameramen ran power cables, casting suspicious glances at the rain clouds above. I began counting television stations but lost track — there were too many.
“It must be a nightmare to plan a rally in Los Angeles,” I thought. Where to meet – where to march – and where to park? How do you get people centered and visible in a city that is a jumble of disparate parts and lacks a reliable mass transit system?

I quickly learned that when the issue is as personal and powerful as immigration, people come.
The empty street between the plaza and the church across the street began to swell with protesters wielding banners, signs, and flags. A church group showed up and began making posters on the spot. “Love Thy Neighbor,” they wrote, adorning the signs with red hearts.

I was most impressed by the wide variety of attendees and the upbeat atmosphere. People of every race, religion and nationality were there. The national media showed up, too – ABC’s Terry Moran wandered past me through the crowd, camera crew tagging behind.

Quick disclaimer: When my sister was a toddler, my parents took her to a protest against the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. I wasn’t born yet, and they never took me to a rally or protest. April 10 was my first ever experience with that type of event.

Even though I was an objective observer, it was overwhelming to see firsthand how deeply the immigration issue affects the residents of this city; legal, natural-born, or otherwise.

Regardless of the legislation and politics, the children who were there with their parents on April 10 will forever remember being involved in something truly unique and truly American: a grassroots movement by the people, fighting for beliefs that are personal and heartfelt. No matter where you stand on these issues, the discussion alone is invigorating.

BELOW: Photos from the April 10 immigration protest at El Pueblo, downtown Los Angeles. Photos by William Etling.Click on any image for a larger picture.

The USA Patriot Act’s provisions barring entry into the United States of terrorism supporters are keeping out thousands of legitimate refugees. Eric Berkowitz reports that the resettlements of refugees from Burma, Columbia, Liberia and elsewhere are now on hold due to their “support” for rebel groups in thier native countries — support that was as minimal as a glass of water and was often given at the barrel of a gun.

By Leo Juarez, Scott Martindale and David Eisenberg

Victor Fressie, 22, was once an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. He first came to this country as an infant with his single mother. Although he returned to Mexico to live with relatives from ages 3 to 8, he spent most of his life in New Jersey.

Then his American stepfather adopted him and Victor became a U.S. citizen. With citizenship, Victor qualified for financial aid and was able to attend a four-year college. In June, he graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

At Dartmouth, he served as president of his school’s Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) chapter. When he came to Los Angeles, he became involved in the La Placita Coalition, which orchestrated the March 25 immigration rally in downtown Los Angeles that brought upwards of 500,000 people to the streets.

He says that rather than punish illegal immigrants, legislators should look at the underlying causes of mass immigration to the United States, including the North American Free Trade Agreement’s impact on Latin American economies.

“I blame it on NAFTA,” he said. “When you have these countries that impoverish you, what are you supposed to do? You can’t blame [immigrants] for just trying to make a better life.”

Victor now lives in Pasadena and works for an architecture firm.

Photos

In his own words

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 Student Activists Speak Out: Part Two [1:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

By Leo Juarez, Scott Martindale and David Eisenberg

Iliana Carter-Ramírez, 22, was born into a family with a long history of activism. Her father, who is white, helped organize factory workers in Los Angeles throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Her mother, who emigrated illegally from El Salvador, was once a textile factory worker and also has worked on union causes.

Iliana attended her first union rally when she was 4 or 5. When she began college at UCLA at age 16, she joined a student group called Conciencia Libre, or Free Consciousness, which worked to unionize staff members on campus.

Since graduating from UCLA last year, Iliana has remained active, helping to coordinate the March 25 protest in downtown Los Angeles that brought an estimated 500,000 people to the streets. She also is a founding member of the Coalition of United Students and, as one of its most active members, served as the emcee of the April 15 student march.

Iliana feels strongly about education and points out that illegal immigrants, who do not qualify for financial aid, typically have no financial means to attend four-year universities.

“This is going to affect our future. If you can’t go to college, you end up in a low-paying job,” Iliana said. “It becomes a cycle. What young person wants that kind of life?”

Photos

In her own words

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 Student Activists Speak Out: Part Three [1:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup