May Day march expected to draw hundreds of illegal immigrants

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of illegal immigrants are expected to join supporters in a four-mile march through downtown Seattle at the height of rush hour today, proclaiming they're not illegal or undocumented — but workers.

And at the same time, many more are expected to stay away, fearful of drawing the attention of immigration authorities or frustrated by the failure of Congress to fix the immigration system even as raids and deportations continue.

"Two years ago, there was legislation in Congress and a tangible reason to turn out," said Louis DeSipio, an expert on Latino politics and associate professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine.

"Now, immigrant communities and leaders realize nothing is going to happen in Congress this year. People are less likely to turn out when nothing pressing will result from it."

Tens of thousands marched through Seattle streets in the spring of 2006 in some of the largest demonstrations in the city in years. As part of the May Day march that year, many illegal immigrants took the day off from work to show the strength of their numbers in the workplace. But legislation in Congress that would have granted them an earned path to legal status failed.

May Day marches are planned in several U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Activists with El Comité Pro Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social (Committee for Immigration Reform and Social Justice), key organizers of the Seattle demonstration, expect about 3,000 participants in the march, scheduled to start at 4 p.m. at Judkins Park in the Central Area, run through the International District onto Fourth Avenue and end at Seattle Center.

Jorge Quiroga, spokesman for El Comité, acknowledges that fear and frustration might keep some people away.

Pointing to the worker-focused theme of this year's event, Quiroga said organizers want to "change the conversation about immigration" to focus not on the status of immigrants but on the contributions they make to the U.S. labor force.

"If we discuss it from the point of view of workers, we help people understand these are workers who have been displaced from their countries, who came here in search of opportunities."

An estimated 277,000 illegal immigrants live Washington state.

It is unlikely anyone participating in the march will be arrested by immigration authorities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said the agency does not "conduct random immigration enforcement."

Shawna Forde, executive director with the Minutemen American Defense, which monitors the borders for illegal immigrant entries, said her group plans a counter demonstration at the May Day march in Yakima and will have a presence in Seattle, too.

"Americans feel they are being ignored by politicians — they are angry and scared," she said. "People are coming in and taking our jobs and undermining our wages, and we can hardly make our house payments," she said.

A worsening economy makes it easier to blame those in this country illegally, said DeSipio, the UC Irvine professor. "And all of a sudden, 12 million (some say 20 million) undocumented immigrants is a huge number," he said.

"With that comes acknowledgment that immigration is not a phenomenon of just Southern California or New York. Now it's all over, and with it all the cultural changes that immigrants bring."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420