From the "Tucson Citizen"
June 5, 2008
About 150 get-tough on immigration advocates rallied Thursday talking about patriotism, waving flags and brandishing signs that read "Stop the invasion" and "Pledge in English Only."
They started at De Anza Park, at North Stone Avenue and East Speedway Blvd., and walked to Presidio Park downtown where they held a brief rally hosted by talk radio personality Jon Justice.
Justice organized the event to show the community that pro-immigrant-rights voices do not dominate the debate.
He told the crowd that standing up for a stronger border is patriotic and the right thing to do for all involved.
"There are people dying in the desert," Justice said. "The most humane thing we can do is put up a wall 100 feet high and say, 'Come in the right way, people.'"
A few miles away, another group - carrying an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and labor activist César Chávez - promoted immigrant rights and condemned racism and the war.
About 300 people gathered at the Southgate Shopping Center, 3300 S. Sixth Ave., then headed north on Sixth Avenue to Armory Park downtown, where a rally organized by Coalición de Derechos Humanos began at about 11 a.m.
Some of the marchers were high school students, some carried posters that read, "Citizenship, yes. Deportation, no. Today we march, tomorrow we vote."
Police escorted the marchers to the park.
Miriam Ramirez, 29, was among the marchers at Southgate. The illegal immigrant from Sonora, Mexico, said she worked for a hotel here as a housekeeper for two years until she was fired in November. She said she was fired because of the "E-verify law."
She meant Arizona's Employer Sanction law, which punishes employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.
Ramirez said she's been living in Tucson for 10 years and working steadily.
She now works cleaning houses and takes whatever work she can get. Her three children - ages 15, 13 and 12, all here illegally - worry every day that they and their mother might be deported.
She said 35 family members who were living in Tucson illegally have returned to Sonora in the first few months of this year because of the new employer sanction law. Now, she said, her children are growing up without these aunts and uncles.
"I want to stay here," she said in Spanish.
Sergio Jimenez, 34, carried a sign that said: "Immigration laws destroy families."
Three of his family members have been deported to Sonora while their young child, born in Tucson, was left behind because he is a U.S. citizen. The child is suffering from being separated from his parents, he said.
Jimenez worked in construction but, on the advice of event organizers, would not say if he is here legally.
Juan Lopez, 36, of Tucson carried a placard bearing a photograph of farmworker hero Chavez. Lopez, who works as a roofer, said he's marching for the rights of immigrant workers and campesinos (farmworkers). He pointed to Chavez's image and said, "For that reason, I carry this."
Tucsonan Gretchen Nielsen, 75, said she's marching because "I see the connection between immigrant rights and war. The government is trying to cover up their crimes by scapegoating immigrants."
Sixth-grader Teresa Cabballero, 13, said she marched Thursday for "human rights." She walked with her sister, Clarisa, 17.
Both attend Cesar Chavez Learning Community Inc. charter school. Teresa Cabballero carried a flag with the emblem of Chavez's farmworker rights movement.
"People think we are taking their jobs. We're just here to learn like everybody else. Racism shouldn't be here. Most people don't like Mexican-Americans and African-Americans. We're going to be marching for all of our rights," she said.
Clarisa Cabballero brought along her 2-year-old son Massiel Cabballero, also carrying a Chavez flag.
Nina Samuels, a Tucson stay-at-home mom, said she waited three years in Lima, Peru for her chance to come to America legally.
"I came here legally and with my head held high," Samuels said. "They should come here legally, too."
Roy Tucker, 56, at De Anza Park earlier Thursday said stopping illegal immigration is a matter of fairness.
"The Mexican government doesn't let people cross into their country illegally," the University of Arizona engineer said.
Charles Bridges, 60, said securing U.S. borders is a matter of national security.
"Most people don't realize the 9-11 hijackers were here illegally," the UA technician at De Anza Park said. "We don't know who is coming into the country illegally."
Occasional passers-by honked in support of the group's message, and a motorcycle officer gave them a thumbs up.
Radio personality Justice, told the crowd that their effort was "for the troops and patriotism."
"They (American military members) should be able to come back to a country they can be proud of," Justice said.
He also urged marchers to be peaceful and not be confrontational with others during the march.
Tucson Police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said both rallies were "very peaceful."
Police officers dispersed when the rallies ended at about noon, he said, adding that TPD staffed the Derechos Humanos rally with about 60 police officers. He estimated the crowd at "between 400 and 500."
Nearby in Presidio Park, the brief anti-immigration rally hosted by Jon Justice was staffed with about 25 TPD officers and Pacheco said the crowd topped out at about 150.
