Across the country, fewer march in immigration rallies

LOS ANGELES — Immigration rallies held nationwide Tuesday produced only a fraction of the million-plus protesters who turned out last year, as fear about raids and frustration over inaction by Congress kept many people at home.

In Los Angeles, where several hundred thousand people turned out last year, about 25,000 attended a downtown rally, said police Capt. Andrew Smith. In Chicago, where more than 400,000 swarmed the streets a year earlier, police officials put initial estimates at about 150,000.

Organizers said those who did march felt a sense of urgency to keep immigration reform from getting pushed to the back burner by the 2008 presidential elections.

"There's no reason a pro-immigration bill can't be passed. That's one of the messages being sent today," said Chicago protester Shaun Harkin, 34, of Northern Ireland, who has lived in the United States as a legal resident for 15 years.

Protests were mostly peaceful, except for an evening rally at a park in Los Angeles, where some demonstrators suspected of throwing rocks and bottles at police were arrested. Police fired rubber bullets and used batons to push the crowd out of the street and onto the sidewalk. It was not immediately known if anyone was injured.

Organizers had long predicted lower turnouts for this year's marches, saying an increase in immigration raids in recent months has left many immigrants afraid to speak out in public. That's a change since rallies in 2006, when some illegal immigrants wore T-shirts that read, "I'm illegal. So what?"

Others believe that the marches were unsuccessful in pushing Congress to pass immigration legislation, and many groups are now focusing on citizenship and voter registration drives instead of street demonstrations.

Organizers said smaller crowds do not mean the movement to win a path to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants has lost momentum.

"People are saying we need to get together to demonstrate unity," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "But with so much happening, and so many concrete victories, you couldn't say the movement is weakening."

After last year's marches, the Senate passed a sweeping bill that would have provided a path to citizenship for many of the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants. But the bill was never reconciled with the House, which at the time was controlled by Republicans, and legislation has languished since last summer.

In Los Angeles, home to the largest concentration of illegal immigrants at about 1 million, teacher David Cid said he came to support his students, many of whom are suffering because of recent raids that have affected their families.

"They feel terrorized," he said.

In fiscal year 2006, federal immigration officials deported 195,024 people nationwide, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data. Six months into the current fiscal year, 125,405 have already been deported.

No rallies were planned in Atlanta, where 50,000 marched last year, because many immigrants were afraid of the raids and of a new state law set to take effect in July. The law requires verification that adults seeking non-emergency state-administered benefits are in the country legally, sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and requires police to check the immigration status of people they arrest.

"There's a lot of anxiety and fear in the immigrant community," said Jerry Gonzalez of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.