'We are not aliens': marchers
DOWNTOWN | Immigrants say momentum squandered when politicians backed off
Enthusiastic cries of "si se puede" drowned out the din of downtown traffic and the CTA trains.
And the proudly defiant marchers hoisted flags and colorful signs proclaiming "we are not aliens" and "stop racist fear."
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
PHOTO GALLERY
Chicago immigration rally
But the 10,000- to 15,000-strong crowd at Thursday's pro-immigration "May Day" rally was significantly smaller than last year's throng of 150,000 and the 400,000 that captured national attention in 2006.
"It makes sense if people are disappointed. There's all this momentum and then nothing happens," 19-year-old Cecilia Real shrugged, speculating why interest may have waned.
Real's sentiments echoed the fears of many demonstrators who believe politicians have thrown issues such as workers' rights and legalizing 12 million undocumented workers on the back burner.
"Right now, I don't think it [immigrant rights] fits into the agenda of mainstream established politics," said Alan Goodman, 55. "Last year, the Democrats actively supported it. This year, they don't find it expedient."
Rally organizers said Thursday's turnout was much larger than expected and pointed out that many community groups have been spending their time on the heated presidential primaries.
"The people are still here," Rainbow-PUSH Coalition's Latino chapter's Salome Amezcua said, eyeing the diverse crowd.
Thousands, including activist Saul Arellano, gathered at the Near West Side's Union Park and marched two miles to Federal Plaza where they were given an impromptu concert by a gaggle of rock stars, including Ben Harper, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Lollapalooza mastermind Perry Farrell. When Morello urged the crowd to "jump the f--- up and down" as the group sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," a giddy Mayor Daley "pogoed" like a teenager in a mosh pit.
Daley took the mic shortly after and kept the masses pumped.
"Look up at all the high-rises and see people up there. They are immigrants. They are no different from you. They came here generations ago. Everyone is an immigrant," the mayor said.
