NORTH JERSEY RECORD April 17, 2007
Group calls for migrant rallies A New Jersey coalition of immigration and civil-rights groups is urging residents not to go to work or school on May 1 as part of a nationwide demonstration in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The group, called the New Jersey May 1 Coalition, hopes the demonstrations here and elsewhere will pressure Congress and the Bush administration to help the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States obtain legal permanent residency. They are hoping to repeat the success of last year's demonstrations, in which thousands of people participated by keeping their businesses closed, not going to work and not making purchases. "People come here mainly to work, not to sit on an unemployment line," said Eric Lerner, of the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee, a member of the coalition. "The current immigration laws are unjust. This country needs to give these people permanent, non-revocable residence. Guest-worker programs do not work; they reduce people to semi-slave dependence on their employers. They lead to enormous abuses, exploitation." Lerner said the coalition isn't planning a rally, though a group from Atlantic City and others outside the coalition elsewhere in New Jersey may hold them. Drawing a line On May 1, Lerner's coalition plans to unveil a Rapid Response Network, accessible through an as-yet-undetermined toll-free number, to help people facing immigration raids and employer mistreatment. Groups that favor stricter laws and enforcement against illegal immigration are downplaying the May 1 demonstrations. "I don't think they'll make much of a difference," said Gayle Kesselman, a Carlstadt resident and co-chair of New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control. Kesselman's organization maintains that providing illegal immigrants with a path to legalization is tantamount to rewarding lawbreakers. "The borders need to be secure and our laws need to be more strongly enforced," she said. "Illegal immigration has gotten completely out of hand." Kesselman said the rallies last year offended many Americans. "We saw people waving Mexican flags, putting them above American flags," she said. "It made many people very angry; it's insulting."In Morristown, Erick Carretto of Wind of the Spirit, an immigration advocacy organization, said he expects a rally in the town, where tensions have risen recently over its growing undocumented population. Mayor Donald Cresitello has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to train and authorize local police to enforce immigration laws. "We have a day-laborer population here and many businesses that are supportive of seeing better immigration policies," Carretto said. Daniel Jara, the president of the state Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said his organization does not actively encourage its members to shut down on May 1. "Not opening for a day could have an impact on many of them," Jara said, "because they are small businesses, so we do not want to put pressure on anyone." Benito Rivero, owner of Casual Habana Cafe in Hackensack, said he would support any employee who wanted to skip work May 1. "They should have the right to express themselves," he said. "This is a peaceful way to show their position on an important issue. If enough of them want to be part of the work stoppage, I'll just not open that day." Over the years, several congressional proposals that sought to toughen border enforcement while also creating a guest-worker program with a path to legalization have stalled.
|