BizBlock
By : Brad Swarts
A Day Without Immigrants
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters gathered in cities around the country in demonstrations that intend to show America the impact immigrant workers have on the nation ’ s economy . They called it “ A Day Without Immigrants ,” organizers had urged immigrants not to show up for work , not to go to school , and not to make any purchases on the day of the national rally , May 1 , 2006 .
While the demonstrations drew big crowds , not everyone agreed that the show of unity should include walking off the job , forsaking purchases or staying out of school . Leaders of the demonstrations announced that they were planning voter registration and citizenship drives across the country in an effort to transform the immigrant community into a powerful , organized political force . The demonstrations may not have impacted the economy in a large effect , but it was clear that the marches attracted huge numbers of workers and students . Chicago drew over 400,000 people and Los Angeles , saw 500,000 demonstrators .
Not everyone was cheering . Rick Bieseda , of the Chicago Minuteman Project , said he was encouraging people to “ shop until they drop ” at American-owned stores today . “ What ’ s the sense of protesting ? I mean , we think the whole thing is ridiculous . These people sneaked into our country .” United States Senator Barack Obama , Democrat of Illinois , told the crowd in Chicago that many people in the United States do not agree that immigrants deserve many rights . “ There is fear out there ,” he said . “ There are those who want to turn back the clock . We have to reach out to those folks and explain to them that our future will be better together than divided .”
How did this day come about ?
For over a decade , the federal government has devoted increasing amounts of money and manpower to reducing undocumented immigration from Mexico with little success . More undocumented immigrants enlist the services of people-smugglers in making the increasingly difficult journey to the United States . Many conservative Republicans understand that most immigrants come to the United States because there are jobs available for them . Unfortunately there are not enough work visa ’ s to go around , which results in labor shortages in many U . S . industries
These free market conservatives like Brad Swarts agree that the U . S . economy would be better served by reforming the U . S . immigration system to accommodate U . S . labor demand within a system that ensures livable wages and good working conditions for all workers , both native and foreign-born . In the process , fewer immigrants would try to enter the United States without authorization , the market for people-smugglers would be undercut , and foreign terrorists would be deprived of the large number of immigrants to blend in with , and aid in their entry into the United States . Moreover , the U . S . Border Patrol could focus more on finding terrorists and less on apprehending jobseekers .
The debate over how to harness the emerging immigrant activism comes as politicians , church leaders and advocacy groups continue to marvel at the large numbers of immigrants , most of them Hispanic , who have turned out in recent weeks to demonstrate against a House bill , which was passed in December , that would criminalize illegal immigrants and those who help them .
Senate legislation that would have legalized most of the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants believed to be living in the United States collapsed this month amid partisan bickering over parliamentary procedure . The Senate is expected to take up immigration again when it returns from its spring recess next week .
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• May / June 06 • Abraza El Calor De Tu Cultura !
Who ’ s Who : Charo Cruz
Charo Cruz esta en proceso de cualificacion para la posicion de Directora de Ventas con Mary Kay Cosmetics . Su equipo esta localizado en Tampa , en proceso rapido de crecimiento y con miras a ganar el uso de un quinto automovil .
Su lema es : " ayudar las mujeres - sin distincion de raza , credo o nacionalidad " a superarse y lograr sus aspiraciones .
Charo es miembro acitvo de la Camara de Comercio Hispana y quiere convertirse en vehiculo para enriquecer las vidas de otras personas . Su mayor deseo es ayudar a la mujer latina a crecer en todas las fases de su vida y a que puedan lograr sus metas .
Para mas informacion llame al tel . ( 813 ) 920- 5974 ( oficina ) o ( 813 ) 784-8996 ( celular ).
5 / 12 / 06 10:15:17 AM