4/15 Day Laborers' March

SAN FRANCISCO IMMIGRANT WORKERS DENOUNCE TERROR TACTICS BY INS AND
POLICE

On Monday, April 15, 2002, at 10:00 am, at 850 Bryant St., San
Francisco, day laborers, immigrant workers, and supporters held press conference and marched from the city's main police station to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). They were protesting new police practices of ticketing day laborers and forcing them off the sidewalk. They were also denouncing the INS raids that recently took place at the San Francisco Airport and at various immigrant homes, as well as the growing potential for more enforcement collaboration between police and the INS.

"As immigrant workers, we should be able to live and work in this city without feeling terrorized by police and INS agents," stated Raul Palomares, a day laborer and member of the San Francisco Day Laborer Union. "We have a right to stand on public sidewalks to wait for employers to pick us up."

In recent weeks, San Francisco police officers have implemented a new policy that has resulted in dozens of day laborers receiving citations, and hundreds being forced off the sidewalk of Cesar Chavez Street between Potrero and Bryant Streets. While immigrant workers are harassed by police, they are also currently experiencing a dramatic threat by federal law enforcement, namely the INS. INS agents have detained and deported at least 17 immigrants working at the San Francisco airport. This month,
the Justice Department released a legal opinion that states that
localities have the "inherent authority" to enforce immigration
laws. This will clear the way for local police agencies that wish to
do so to arrest and detain persons based on suspected immigration law
violations.

"As immigrants, we will put ourselves in danger when we march to the INS building. But that is a risk we are prepared to take for the safety of our families," stated Guillermina Arroyo, coordinator of the Women's Collective of the Day Labor Program.