Immigrant communities through out the United States came together on April 9th and 10th to send a clear message throughout the nation – “We Are America.” The National Day of Action began the nation wide protest on April 9th with Dallas (TX) San Diego (CA), Miami (FL), and Boise (ID) leading the way with the rest of the nation continuing on 10th 2006.
The “April 10 Day of Action” was not organized through well known organizing communities but through local grassroots organizations and coalitions are working together. More than two million immigrants and their allies gathered in cities across the US to oppose HR4437. These protests will go down in the history books as the largest display of decentralized, coordinated protest in US history. Cities everywhere broke historical records on the number of people gathering to voice their outrage.
Communities who lived in fear found thier voices and spoke out about America’s broken immigration system. A system that tears families apart; a system that exploits and forces them to work is conditions that are considered inhumane; and a system that violates their civil liberties.
Summary:
Birmingham (AL) – 4,000
Phoenix (AZ) – 100,000
Tucson (AZ) – 25,000
Springdale (AR) – 5,000
Little Rock (AR) – 2,000
San Diego (CA) – 100,000
San Jose (CA) – 25,000
Los Angeles (CA) – 7,000
Santa Ana (CA) – 300
Sacramento (CA) – 5,000
San Francisco (CA) – 5,000
Fresno (CA) – 10,000
Oakland (CA) – 10,000
Concord (CA) –
Gilroy (CA) –
Redwood City (CA) –
Richmond (CA) – 300
Hayward (CA) –
Denver (CO) – 1,000+
Colorado Springs – 1,000
Grand Junction (CO) – 4,000
Boulder (CO) – 200
Hartford (CT) – 2,500
New Haven (CT) – 2,000
Georgetown (DE) – 1,000
Miami (FL) – 7,000
Homestead (FL) – 2,500
Tampa (FL) –
Atlanta (GA) – 60,000
Boise (ID) – 4,000
Champaign (IL) –
South Bend (IN) – 5,000
Des Moines (IA) – 5,000
Kansas City (KS) –
Arkansas City (KS) – 200
Emporia (KS) – 1,500
Garden City (KS) – 3,000
Dodge City (KS) – 2,000
Great Bend (KS) – 300
Liberal (KS) – 80
Wichita (KS) – 4,000
Portland (ME) – 200
Salisbury (MD) – 200
Boston (MA) – 10,000
Grand Rapids (MI) –
St. Paul (MN) – 30,000
Jackson (MS) – 500
St Louis (MO) – 5,000
Omaha (NE) – 10,000
Lincoln (NE) – 4,000
Schuyler (NE) –
Jersey City (NJ) – 5,000
Las Cruces (NM) – 300
Sunland Park (NM) – 350
Albuquerque (NM) – 300 middle school and high school students
New York City (NY) – 125,000
Long Island (NY) – 2,000
Ellis Island (NY) – 4,000
State of North Carloina – 100 people joined a cross-state march
Winston-Salem (NC) – 1,500
Wilmington (NC) –
Siler City (NC) – 4,000
Toledo (OH) –
Cincinnati (OH) –
Louisville (OH) –
Oklahoma City (OK) – 10,000 (week before)
Salem (OR) – 10,000
Portland (OR) – 1,000
Philadelphia (PA) – 7,000
Harrisburg (PA) – 250
Pittsburg (PA) – 150
Columbia (SC) – 5,000
Greenville (SC) – 2,500
Charleston (SC) – 1,500
Nashville (TN) – 14,000
Knoxville (TN) – 2,500
Austin (TX) – 15,000
Dallas (TX) – 500,000
Fort Worth (TX) – 30,000
Houston (TX) – 50,000
San Antonio (TX) – 50,000
El Paso (TX) – 2,000
Tyler (TX) – 2,000
Laredo (TX) – 1,000 students (parents and media were barred from forum)
Cameron Park (TX) – 500
Harlingen (TX) – 150
Brownsville (TX) – 350
Corpus Christi (TX) – 400
Salt Lake City (UT) – 40,000
Seattle (WA) – 30,000
Madison (WI) – 10,000
Laramie (WY) – 50
Washington, D.C – 500,000
I need you help, I know there were more rallies out there so if you know of another city which I left out, please let me know. These are their voices, voices that need to be heard. If it is not reported, it never happened, and together we can make sure that America knows about the small towns or areas that the news media did not report.
As for Laredo, TX here is the latest development.
Parents and members of the media were barred Wednesday from entering Alexander High School, where 800 to 1,000 students filled the cafeteria to attend an open forum on immigration reform.
School officials also confiscated posters that said “Viva la Causa!” and other slogans advocating immigration reform, students said after the event.
…
Several representatives of television and print media outlets arrived at about 10:15 a.m. for the 10:20 event; later, Santos said the event was scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. Journalists were asked to leave school property and were forced to stand across the street on Del Mar.
What the local media is reporting:
UISD Superintendent Bobby Santos later claimed that the media was never “officially” invited. No, we didn’t have it in writing. We often don’t. If we get a phone call from an official asking us to cover an event, we try to respond as quickly as we can. We don’t wait to get in writing.
This is the first time in a combined 30-year memory here at the paper that we have been barred from attending such a student event.
…
According to witnesses, parents were initially prohibited from entering the cafeteria by Principal Sandra Alvarez. Later, after the parents protested, Alvarez said she had received a new directive and allowed them to enter. Shortly thereafter, however, at least one other parent was barred from entering by school police. She, too, was later admitted.
We can not stop fight, our voices still need to be heard. Those in small towns, their voices need to heard.
¡¡¡Luchemos por justicia, trabajo y dignidad para todos!!!