Local Latino activists will travel to Los Angeles on Thursday to join a massive movement for immigrant rights.
A caravan of Latino groups will leave the parking lot of Carousel Mall in San Bernardino at 11 a.m. and head to downtown Los Angeles to participate in an afternoon rally. Similar marches are being held in other parts of the country.
Students and faculty from the Claremont Colleges are planning to travel separately to Los Angeles.
Organizers of the May Day "Gran Marcha" expect to attract between 20,000 and 100,000 people, who will urge Congress and President Bush to enact comprehensive immigration reform.
Protesters are also demanding legalization of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and other measures to ensure their fair and humane treatment.
"This march is meant to raise consciousness of how the immigration population is being targeted in this time of economic crisis," said Jose Zapata Calderon, a professor of sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College in Claremont. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get some type of legislation passed that will allow the immigrants to work as human beings here and not just be exploited."
A coalition of students from Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Pitzer colleges are expected to go to the rallies.
This is the third straight year protesters have converged to press for immigration reform.
Last year's rallies in Los Angeles were
marred by violence and claims of police brutality as officers tried to clear marchers and journalists out of MacArthur Park.
Officers have been training to prepare for this year's protest.
In 2006, an estimated 1 million people participated in a largely peaceful march.
"There has been a lot more communication and preparation this time. I expect that everything will go very smoothly," Calderon said.
Libreria del Pueblo, a nonprofit Latino advocacy group in San Bernardino, is helping organize the caravan departing from the Carousel Mall.
"We need to do something and not just be passive," said the Rev. Patricio Guillen, a Catholic priest who runs the organization. "We want to integrate the immigrants into society and help them become part of the community so they aren't forced to live in the shadows."
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_9090230
A caravan of Latino groups will leave the parking lot of Carousel Mall in San Bernardino at 11 a.m. and head to downtown Los Angeles to participate in an afternoon rally. Similar marches are being held in other parts of the country.
Students and faculty from the Claremont Colleges are planning to travel separately to Los Angeles.
Organizers of the May Day "Gran Marcha" expect to attract between 20,000 and 100,000 people, who will urge Congress and President Bush to enact comprehensive immigration reform.
Protesters are also demanding legalization of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and other measures to ensure their fair and humane treatment.
"This march is meant to raise consciousness of how the immigration population is being targeted in this time of economic crisis," said Jose Zapata Calderon, a professor of sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College in Claremont. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get some type of legislation passed that will allow the immigrants to work as human beings here and not just be exploited."
A coalition of students from Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Pitzer colleges are expected to go to the rallies.
This is the third straight year protesters have converged to press for immigration reform.
Last year's rallies in Los Angeles were
marred by violence and claims of police brutality as officers tried to clear marchers and journalists out of MacArthur Park.
Officers have been training to prepare for this year's protest.
In 2006, an estimated 1 million people participated in a largely peaceful march.
"There has been a lot more communication and preparation this time. I expect that everything will go very smoothly," Calderon said.
Libreria del Pueblo, a nonprofit Latino advocacy group in San Bernardino, is helping organize the caravan departing from the Carousel Mall.
"We need to do something and not just be passive," said the Rev. Patricio Guillen, a Catholic priest who runs the organization. "We want to integrate the immigrants into society and help them become part of the community so they aren't forced to live in the shadows."
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_9090230
