Immigrants in the U.S. Take to the Streets to Demand Equality

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Labor journalist David Bacon

As immigration reform legislation was debated in Congress, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters have marched in cities from coast to coast across America. Their large numbers -- half a million in Chicago and estimates of a million in Los Angeles -- illustrated what's at stake for the immigrant community if proposed laws are passed that criminalize undocumented workers living in the United States.

The leading legislative proposals now before Congress deal with two main paths to reform. The version passed by the House, sponsored by Ohio GOP Rep. Sensenbrenner, takes a punitive approach by making undocumented immigrants and those who assist them felons -- increasing employer sanctions and border security -- but offers no provisions for legalization. The Senate is considering a less draconian measure sponsored by Senators John McCain of Arizona and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts that proposes a guest worker program and a process for legalization.

Within this often emotional debate, strains of xenophobia can be seen in groups like the Minutemen, whose volunteers -- criticized by many as vigilantes -- patrol border areas without government sanction. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Labor journalist David Bacon, who takes a look at the U.S. immigration debate and the winners and losers among corporations and workers if provisions of some proposed reform legislation are signed into law.

Read Bacon's articles online at his website dbacon.igc.org

Related links:

People for the American Way at www.pfaw.org

The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) at www.nnirr.org

Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras at www.coalitionforjustice.net

Mexican Labor News and Analysis at www.ueinternational.org/Mexico_info/mlna.php

Jobs With Justice www.jwj.org/corepage.htm

United Farm Workers www.ufw.org

AFL-CIO Home Page www.aflcio.org

Change to Win Labor Coalition www.calaborfed.org

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