The Immigration Issue: Protest at the Capitol
Protestors take to streets of Austin to call for immigration reform
By Joe Ruiz
The University Star
AUSTIN — Thousands of Central Texans marched downtown on Monday afternoon to protest resolutions before Congress calling for tougher crackdowns on illegal immigration.
An estimated crowd of 12,000 were present throughout the day, and an estimated 3,000 congregated on the steps of the Capitol building to listen to speakers, organize and chant slogans calling for equal rights within the immigrant communities.
The lush, green lawns of the Capitol were awash in white shirts and predominately American and Mexican flags.
The rally on the steps was part of an earlier walkout and protest on the campus of the University of Texas.
One of those at the Capitol attended because of what he had faced in his five years in the United States as an undo ented immigrant.
“We came to work in America to get a better life,” Sergio Peña said. “We want to get our papers, that way we don’t have to worry about being here and not be scared and afraid.”
Holding an American flag with his family, Peña joined those on the lawn and steps in chants of “¡Si, se puede!” Spanish for “Yes, we can!”
The protest — which later became a march — was part of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice, a day planned to rally hundreds of thousands of people in at least 39 states, according to CNN.
Austin’s protestors, while predominately of Hispanic descent, were joined by people across the racial and ethnic spectrum.
Brigid Shea, a former Austin city councilwoman, was among the protestors marching through Congress Avenue and other streets on their way to the Federal Building at the intersection of San Jacinto Boulevard and East Ninth Street.
“I think these protests are very similar to those of the Civil Rights protests in the ’60s,” Shea said. “I think the way we treat immigrants is a re-invention of slavery.”
Shea, who openly cried during the walk, also marched as a way to teach her son and his friend how to stand up for what they believe is right.
“If you don’t give us our rights, we’re going to open our own doors,” said Jack Bennett, friend of Shea’s son. “It should be very easy to just give them their rights.”
Immigrants, both legal and illegal, were part of the protest and march that stopped briefly to chant at the doors of the Texas Governor’s Mansion on Colorado Street as well as the local offices of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on West Sixth Street.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Kyle resident Rigoberto Faz briefly led the march down 11th Street before turning left on Colorado. Faz, hand-in-hand with two of his three sons, joined the march to show that immigrants contribute daily to American life.
“My parents came here from Mexico to work,” Faz said. “I’m not claiming to be a perfect person, but it gave me the opportunity to give my children, my wife and my family an opportunity to have a better life. I believe everybody should have that right to come and have the opportunity to work as long as they remain crime-free, I don’t see a reason why we have to deport anybody.”
Following the chants at the Governor’s Mansion, the march continued four blocks further to Sixth Street, where the line of protestors turned right and proceeded to stop at Cornyn’s offices.
Chris Jimmerson, executive director of Political Asylum Project of Austin and one of the organizers of the march, stopped the group as they arrived at shaded entrance to the building.
“This is Senator Cornyn’s office, and they have a message they want to send to Senator Cornyn about supporting immigrant rights,” Jimmerson said. “We want a program that allows people to become legal, and we want just, comprehensive immigration reform.”
Three protestors carried a giant letter, affixed with a stamp of Latino civil rights icon César Chavéz, to the door of the locked building and left it against the entrance, addressed to the local offices of the senator.
“It’s clear that we need both border security and reform to address the 12 million people currently living inside our borders illegally. The Cornyn/Kyl bill takes a comprehensive approach that would bolster our border security, enhance interior enforcement and comprehensively reform our immigration laws. Our plan would also provide a second chance, without amnesty, for those who want to work legally in the United States. But I will continue to oppose legislation that includes amnesty or simply repeats the mistakes of the 1986 bill,” Cornyn wrote in an e-mail statement to The University Star through his press secretary, John Drogin.
After leaving Cornyn’s office, the march looped back through Fifth Street and turned left onto Congress, before turning again on East Ninth Street to arrive at a final rally at the Federal Building.
Those walking at the head of the march on Fifth Street could observe people still turning onto Sixth Street in front of Cornyn’s office.
Many of the demonstrators were peaceful along the route, even when confronted by a handful of counter-protestors, although an official statement about situations during the rally and march were unavailable after multiple phone calls to the Austin Police Department were not returned.
“I believe that we’re a nation of laws and that we need to uphold the law as it is. Illegal immigration is against the law, so I think that the people who are here illegally need to go home and come back via proper channels,” said Grant Rostig, a Libertarian candidate for the 25th U.S. Congressional District of Texas.
The candidate said that even with his alternative stance to the masses walking through Austin, he had been confronted only briefly.
“A few people have said a few things, but it’s been pretty peaceful, actually.”
Rostig is challenging Democratic in bent Lloyd Doggett in the November elections.
By 7 p.m., most of the protestors had left the Federal Building, but traffic through Austin’s downtown streets was still blocked.
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