Supporters rally for immigrant rights

May 2, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

MIAMI (AP) — Immigrants and their families gathered at rallies across the country Friday to push for changes to U.S. immigration policy, but as a swine-flu outbreak continued to spread, attendance at some events was smaller than organizers had hoped.

The area hardest hit by the swine flu is Mexico, also the native home of many rally participants. There were no immediate reports of canceled events, but Juan Pablo Chavez, a Tampa-based community organizer for the Florida Immigration Coalition, said he and others were monitoring the situation and in close contact with state health-care officials.

“If they tell us to halt the events, we will cancel immediately. But for now, we are simply asking people who are sick not to come out,” Chavez said.

Organizers are seeking to channel the political muscle Hispanics showed last fall in support of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. They hope that energy will jump-start stalled efforts to pass an immigration law that provides a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.

They had hoped crowds would equal or exceed those of last year, which was down from 2006 when a stringent immigration bill poised to pass in Congress drew massive protests. But early reports suggested turnout would be far lower than in previous years.

In Miami, more than 300 minority-rights activists joined with union officials in one of the first local immigration rallies to be endorsed by the AFL-CIO.

“We are not just here for the immigrants, we are not just here for the workers,” said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “We are here for all the families who deserve a better life. Immigrants will not be pitted against union workers — our fates are intertwined.”

The Miami marchers gathered across from the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay, waving signs for immigration reform in Spanish, English and Creole. They also want temporary protection for the state’s large community of Haitian immigrants, whose native island has been devastated in recent years by hurricanes and floods.

“Wi Nou Kapab!” they chanted in Creole, meaning “Yes We Can.”

Thousands were expected at events in Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Denver, Chicago, New York and other cities — mostly in the late afternoon, when workers finished their shifts.

In Chicago, rally-goers unfurled a banner of flags stitched together from countries across the globe. Organizers said they expected about 15,000 at the event, but the crowd appeared to be much smaller.