Immigration reform causes anger
El Rancho manager Faustino Vazquez said demonstrations hadn't caused any disruptions in his restaurant.
Published May 2, 2006
On a day when millions of immigrants were expected to protest federal immigration legislation by not going to work and more were expected to boycott American goods abroad, El Rancho manager Faustino Vazquez said his restaurant experienced no disruptions Monday.
"Everybody's shown up for work so far," he said on Monday afternoon.
Law professor Huyen Pham said the goal of the protests is to show the economic impact immigrants have on the country by encouraging them not to go to work. "There are numerous organizers of these protests, so there will be many purposes," she said. "They want to show what a day in the life of the United States would be like without immigrants."
Graduate student Danny Botello said he took a group of seven students and community members to Kansas City to join in the protests.
"It was really to encourage people to get active politically and to get undocumented workers out of hiding," Botello said. "It had a lot of ramifications beyond personal, cultural and familial levels. This is really a multifaceted issue on all sides."
Francisco Garcia, an employee of the Los Cuates Latin Market, said business had actually been slower than usual on Monday.
In Missouri, Sen. Bill Alter, R-High Ridge, is sponsoring a bill that would allow state agencies and police to crack down on illegal immigration.
"The whole purpose of the bill is to discourage illegals from coming to Missouri in the first place by making it an unattractive place for their final destination," he said. "We can't determine their status, whether they're illegal or legal. We just end up paying some of their bills, and this bill is trying to reduce some of the costs to the state."
Alter's bill would prohibit employers who have illegal immigrants as workers from receiving public contracts or receiving loans from the state.
The bill would require that highway patrol officers be trained in how to enforce federal immigration laws and authorize them to investigate and arrest illegal immigrants and turn them in to federal authorities. It would require jailers to verify the citizenship status of inmates brought into their jails. It also would prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving public assistance.
Pham said she wasn't sure this provision was necessary and is not sure what the legislation would prevent.
"Quite frankly, at the state level, there don't seem to be many benefits left that are currently available to immigrants, so I don't know what the Missouri legislation achieves," Pham said.
At Mid-Missouri Centro Latino, a community center where Latinos can go for educational and health opportunities, Director Eduardo Crespi said immigration reform was not just angering Latino immigrants.
"There are other immigrants in this country as well," Crespi said. "There are immigrants from all over Asia and Africa. This is more than just Latinos and illegal immigrants."
He said the problem will continue until employers and representatives reach a higher state of consciousness in thinking of solutions. Until then, Crespi said his center would continue to help people and work with the Immigration and Naturalization Service regardless of a person's legal status.