May Day 2007: Hundreds of Thousands March for Immigrant Rights

For the second year in a row, May Day featured a massive display of solidarity for immigrant rights in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people to the streets across the country. Marches were held in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix and New York.

* Miriam Canal, immigrant rights marcher in New York: "We hope to accomplish all the rights that we deserve. Not only as immigrants, but also as people and human beings."

Calls focused on demanding a path to citizenship for undocumented workers, ending raids and deportations that have divided entire families, rejecting anti-immigrant legislation, and thwarting the continued militarization of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Although the May Day events went off mostly without incident, one major confrontation took place in Los Angeles. An evening protest was disrupted when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands gathered in McArthur Park. LAPD officials said protesters had thrown plastic bottles and other projectiles. Protest organizers dispute the account and are demanding an independent investigation.

To help recap and look ahead to what's next, we're joined by organizers of the day's two largest protests:

* Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles.
* Jorge Mujica, former journalist and union organizer and one of the lead organizers for immigrant rights protests in Chicago. He has worked for La Raza, Univision, and Telemundo, and has been involved in union organizing in both the US and in Mexico.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/02/1426257