04/30/07 Speak Out Tuesday For Immigrant Rights

Speak Out Tuesday For Immigrant Rights

The Capital Times
Monday, April 30, 2007
Janet Parker

Ana, a friend from Uruguay, mentioned to me a while back that she was disappointed after moving to Madison to find that May 1 did not get as much attention here as she had expected it would. May 1 marks the anniversary of the strike in Chicago, 130 years ago, that won us the 8-hour workday.

All over the world, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers Day. Since Madison is near Chicago, Ana was surprised to find in years past that our observance of the day was not a major event.

That changed on May 1, 2006, when Madison saw its largest march in recent memory as throngs turned out to support immigrant workers. We - 10,000 of us by official estimates - marched to the Capitol in a positive expression of our beliefs on a glorious spring day. We spoke out together because we are all immigrants. We appreciate immigrants in our community. We agree with the overwhelming majority of Americans that it is time for reforms that offer a legal path to citizenship for the millions of immigrant workers now in the U.S. who want to stay.

Last spring the immigrant rights movement made history across the country as marches turned out millions, proclaiming the new civil rights movement of our time. These marches had a direct effect, preventing Congress from passing punitive legislation, proposed by Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, that would have harmed immigrant workers and the people who employ them.

Again it is time to speak out for sensible and fair immigration policy that acknowledges undocumented immigrants as workers and asserts that their employers are not criminals. Recent legislation on the issue, such as the Real ID Act, does nothing to solve the issue of immigration in this country. We need an immigration policy that recognizes the amazing contributions of immigrants to our country's economy and culture.

Across the country, tomorrow - May 1 - will again be celebrated by major marches calling for an immigration policy that offers a legal way for workers to earn U.S. citizenship.

Tomorrow at noon in Madison, we will come out to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. The march will begin at the Capitol and proceed to Brittingham Park, where there will be food, drink and information on how to support the movement for immigrant rights. Please join the event, and also talk with friends, co-workers and employees to encourage them to do the same.

If you have co-workers or employees who are immigrants or believe that immigration policy reform is needed, please encourage them to come tomorrow. Let them know that they will be supported in their workplace for participating in this day of action. The Dane County Board has officially recognized May 1 as International Workers Day, supported the march and resolved "that the Dane County Board of Supervisors encourages employers in Dane County to respect the rights of workers to take part in the May 1 activities without a punitive recourse."

Let's make sure that all of our workplaces support civil rights for immigrants, and let's stand together to support comprehensive and humane immigration policy reform.

Last week, the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice's executive committee unanimously adopted immigrant rights as a new social justice focus. WNPJ is a network of 152 organizations with a combined membership of over a million Wisconsin residents. The network brought Wisconsin major national attention in 2006 through the Bring Our Troops Home referendum campaigns, when 34 Wisconsin communities voted "yes" to ballot initiatives calling for the immediate return of all our troops from Iraq. More details are on our Web site at www.wnpj.org