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miércoles, mayo 02, 2007 Escrito PorAdam J. Segala las 02:47 PM | Comentar | Imprimir | Enviar a Correo MATT.org recently previewed a series of rallies and events in May that were intended to bring the nation’s attention back to the issue of immigration. Even though the rallies were much smaller than the historic ones just one year ago, they still largely succeeded at bringing the issue back into the national news.
May Day this year brought tens of thousands of people into the streets in major U.S. cities, a respecatble showing given that, among other things, Democrats control Congress and are certain to block any anti-immigrant legislation, though there is no indication yet that they are prepared to pass the immigration reform plan offered by the Bush Administration or the one "comprehensive" plan offered by Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy for that matter. MATT.org recently produced a video report on the Bush proposal. Round-Up of National News Coverage of May Day Rallies The Washington Post reports that the primary issue gaining attention at the rallies this year is keeping families together. Post staff writer Darryl Fears writes that, "A year after a series of similar rallies, yesterday’s protests focused on keeping families intact. That focus appeared aimed at raids that could separate parents who are in the country illegally from children born here who are citizens. More than 3 million American-born children have illegal immigrant parents who are subject to deportation, according to the Urban Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center." The Post had at least 6 staffers contribute to the story, which ran about 700 words (fairly short for a national story with this many contributors). The San Diego Union Tribune reports that this year’s demonstrations "paled in comparison to last year’s massive pro-immigration rallies nationwide." Why fewer people, Copley reporter Dan Laidman writes: "The smaller demonstrations in part reflected a change in strategy, as the prominent Spanish-language media figures who encouraged last year’s rallies told listeners this year to register to vote and to write to their Congress members instead of marching." Meanwhile, The New York Times also reports that, "The demonstrations seemed to underscore how much the protest movement has struggled in the last year." Why? Times staffer Randal C. Archibold has his take: "Last year, a bill in Congress proposed, among other measures, making it a felony to be in the United States illegally, providing a sharp and clearly defined rallying point that fueled protests. Just as that proposal fizzled, so did the protests, with subsequent rallies smaller and smaller as organizers turned to voter registration and lobbying." One Associated Press report noted: "After last year’s protests, reform legislation stalled in Congress and bipartisan proposals for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship have gotten more conservative."
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