California students stage new immigration protests

California students stage new immigration protests
- By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writer
Friday, March 31, 2006

(03-31) 14:38 PST SAN DIEGO, (AP) --

Thousands of students protesting tough immigration reform proposals marched peacefully in several California cities Friday, expressing fears that relatives could be deported if new laws are enacted.

Big marches in San Diego and Bakersfield and smaller protests elsewhere coincided with the 79th anniversary of the birth of the late Cesar Chavez, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union who became a champion of poor, Hispanic agricultural workers in the 1960s and '70s.

"The more we come out, the more people will start paying attention to us. We will not stay quiet," said Zaira Mendoza, a junior at Mission Bay High School in San Diego who missed school all week to join protests.

But there were no mass walkouts in the giant Los Angeles Unified School District, where a week of outcry began with tens of thousands of students leaving classes, triggering a police crackdown on truancy. A few small protests did take place in Los Angeles and about 15 truancy citations were issued, authorities said.

In San Diego, students, parents and young adults waved Mexican flags in Chicano Park. Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Schorr estimated the number at about 1,500. A school district spokeswoman put it near 2,000.

Motorists honked in support and construction workers cheered as the group marched through downtown.

California Highway Patrol officers closed one nearby entrance to the Coronado Bridge to prevent students from blocking traffic on the span over San Diego Bay.

Students distributed leaflets explaining a provision of a bill approved in the House of Representatives that calls for a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration. Its prospects for becoming law are uncertain.

"This law if it passes will affect pretty much everyone I know — aunts, uncles, friends," said protester Jessica Hurtado, a U.S.-born senior at La Jolla High School whose parents came from Mexico and are now legal residents.

Hurtado, who painted the words "No violencia" on her cheeks, said relatives and friends would be scared to even go to a hospital out of fear of deportation if the House bill becomes law.

Ulises Lopez, a sophomore at Hoover High School in central San Diego County, walked 90 minutes to get to Chicano Park. He said he was marching to defend cousins who are in the United States illegally.

"I'm scared for them," he said. "They work hard and they want to send them back."

Maria Castellanos, 24, who came to the rally with her brother Henry, a high school freshman, stood on the outskirts of the demonstration and voiced disapproval of the many students waving Mexican flags.

"We're Americans first and Mexicans second," she said in Spanish.

Sheriff's deputies monitored at least 200 students from north San Diego County high schools who walked to California State University, San Marcos.

"To their credit, the students have been very peaceful, which corresponds to Cesar Chavez's legacy," said sheriff's Lt. Jim Bolwerk.

In the Central Valley, about 1,000 students marched in Bakersfield. Six were suspended for arguing with police and security guards, said John Teves, spokesman for the Kern High School District.

In Fresno, about 50 middle school students walked out but were rounded up and taken to a truancy center, said police spokesman Jeff Cardinale.

"We've tried to offer the students other avenues to express themselves like a free-speech space and different forums," said Susan Bedi, a spokeswoman for Fresno Unified School District.

In Riverside County, groups with opposing views on the immigration legislation faced off on a street outside a Mira Loma high school. Members of Save Our State waved American flags and placards while members of the Chicano group MEChA waved Mexican flags and a poster saying "Deport Legal Racists."

"They were shouting at each other back and forth. About 10 deputies stood in the middle of the street to make sure nothing would happen," said sheriff's spokesman Dennis Gutierrez.

About 100 demonstrators gathered briefly in a light rain outside City Hall in Los Angeles, where protests had been promoted for various locations in postings on a popular Internet site, but police and school authorities had taken a tough stand against walkouts after tens of thousands of students roamed streets on Monday.

"There are not the numbers of young people that we thought," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during an appearance with U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at a downtown hotel.

"This is a free country and people have, of course, the right to express their views," Gonzales said, adding that the parents of many students came to the U.S. to ensure they had "the best education in the world."

"Kids need to be in school. No question about that," Gonzales said.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, an immigrant rights activist, on Thursday urged students to honor Chavez's legacy by staying in school.

"In my opinion, student boycotts of school and other activities on our streets do not produce meaningful immigration reform," said Mahony.

In Washington, D.C., the House has passed legislation limited to tightening borders and making it a crime to be in the United States illegally or to offer aid to illegal immigrants. The Senate, meanwhile, is debating proposals for a guest worker program that would offer possible citizenship opportunities.