The Rattler April 19, 2006 v. 93 #11 - St. Mary's University

FeaturesApril 19, 2006 The Rattlerwww.stmarytx.edu/rattler 7Borders close in on immigration talkLast week’s march in downtown San Antonio draws 18,000 among growing spectrum of opinions on issue.By CARLA E. AGUILARFEATURES EDITORThe popular chant “si se puede”(“yes we can”), coined by 1960scivil rights leader Cesar Chavez,resonated throughout the streetsof major metropolitan communitiesnationwide after the Chicanomantra’s inauguration almost 40years ago.Over 18,000 people, includingover 30 St. Mary’s students, facultyand staff members, flooded thestreets of San Antonio on Monday,April 10, to demonstrate againstproposed immigration reform policies,one of which is a bill by theU.S. House of Representatives thatwould make felons of an estimated12 million illegal immigrants inthe country.However, less than 24 hoursafter the marches concluded,two top Republican leaders, SenateMajority Leader Bill Frist andHouse Speaker Dennis Hastert,issued a joint statement saying:“It remains our intent to producea strong border security bill thatwill not make unlawful presencein the United States a felony.”Over 100 cities participated inthe national dayof action on immigrationrights,hosting ralliesthroughout thecountry.“History isin the makingtoday, and youcan choose to bean active makerof history or anobserver of history,”said PatriciaMejia, assistantdirector ofthe 21 st CenturyLeadership Center.“I believe itis not only important,but itis necessary forstudents to be involved in all ofthe action that is taking place nationallyand locally.”With prevalent rallies and organizedschool walkouts, somestudents feel that the proposedmeasures shaping the next chapterof U.S. immigration history arenot the most productive.“People are getting really emotionalabout this whole issue, andI don’t know if [they] are trying tosee things objectively and set realisticgoals,” said Andy Hrywnak,a junior biology major.While Hrywnak said he’s in fullsupport of people exercising theFirst Amendment right to peacefullyassemble, he has a problemwith the organized student walkouts.“Marching out of school is totallywrong if it interferes withthese students’ educations,” Hrywnaksaid. “It could get out ofhand.”Hrywnak’s mentality contraststhe ideology of Lanier HighSchool principal Richard Solis,who marched alongside 200 of hisstudents at the rally so that theyIMMIGRATION BILLSSENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE•Guest worker program wouldallow 400,000 foreign laborersannually for up to six years•Exempts church andcharitable groups from criminalprosecution for providing aid toundocumented workers•Adds 2,000 Border Patrolagents next year and 2,400 moreannually through 2011HOUSE•Would make it a felony forchurch and charity groups toprovide aid to undocumentedimmigrants•Calls for building 700 miles offence along the Mexican border•Would eliminate birthrightcitizenshipSOURCE: San Antonio Express-Newscould participate firsthand in anissue that could impact them directly.“Throughout history, collegestudents and young peoplehave always led movements forchange,” Mejia said. “To participatenow, our generation’s civilrights movement is to take a standfor justice.”Former San Antonio mayorHenry Cisneros agreed, sayingthat San Antonio, a Hispanic majority-minoritycity, needs to be atthe forefront.“Here is an example of peopleliving in the shadows coming outin numbers, energized by the cradleof the next civil rights movement,”Cisneros said during aninterview at the march.A plethora of banners carriedby people at the April 10 rallyread, “Justice and Dignity for allus immigrants” and “Fight ignorance,not immigrants.” Othersdeclared, “Deport Congress” and“No Tortilla Curtain”.Many protestors were outragedfor being classified as criminals.“We are here in search of oppo r t u n i t i e sand we are notcriminals,” saidOmar Guevara,a 25-year-oldSalvadoran constructionworker.Guevara explainedthat hewas there toemphasize theirony that someimmigrants arehelping to rebuildhurricaneravagedNewOrleans, a symbolof Americanculture wherethe Hispanicpopulation issurely anticipated to grow fromits estimated two percent, pre-Katrina.Referring to his work placingroofs on houses in New Orleans,he said he feels that immigrantstake the jobs few in this countrywould.Other rally participants voicedconcern about other aspects of theHouse bill that would criminalizechurches and charity groups forproviding aid to undocumentedworkers.Catholic Archbishop of SanAntonio, Jose Gomez, took hisstrongest public stand at the rallyby openly opposing this aspect ofthe proposed reform, stating thatto hold back from helping a fellowneighbor is wrong.“The Archbishop said [thisrally] is not about breaking laws,(but) it is about human rights,”senior Lee High School studentYvonne Estrada said.Estrada was at the rally withher mother, a Mexican immigrantwho is a housekeeper,stressing that immigrants, bothlegal and undocumented, are theones “cooking your meals andclean[ing] your homes.”However, some lobbyists inWashington have challenged thetraditional argument that immigrantscome to the U.S. as hardworkingindividuals.“These views reflect the viewsof people who have broken the lawand want to be rewarded for it,”said Ira Mehlman, a spokespersonfor the Federation for AmericanImmigration Reform, in an articlein the San Antonio Express-News onApril 11.The Washington D.C.-basedCenter for Immigration Studies, agroup that favors limits on immigration,perceive the rallies as havingdone “more harm than good.”With the nation’s tortureddialogue on the hot button issue,some believe that the protestorsmay be making noise, but not offeringwell-developed solutions.“I don’t think people havethought things through,” Hrywnaksaid.Hrywnak said he feels bothsides are blinded by their passion,making it difficult to reach a compromise.“The entire immigration systemneeds to be changed,” Hrywnaksaid, whose parents are nativeUkrainians. “This issue will notclear itself up in a week becausethe real problem is the entire immigrationsystem.”Hywnak was referring to thecurrent system of getting into thecountry legally, a process that tookhis parents years to obtain.Either way, the U.S. immigrationdebate is going full-speedahead on a nationwide scale, withall sides examining the push andpull factors causing the influx ofimmigration into the country.“This rally will change policies,”said Efren Parra, a juniorinternational marketing major,adding that in the least, “it wasvery liberating to see the comingtogether of all U.S. Latinos.”PHOTOS BY CAROLINE E. HALLMANDirectly above: A vigil commemoratingthose who have lost theirlives crossing the border washeld after the rally. Above: Thousandsmarched from Milam Park toHemisFair Park on April 10 to demonstratefor immigrants’ rights.