A message from 8,000 throats

The message that roared from more than 8,000 throats was simple enough for the most obtuse member of Congress to understand:
“Comprehensive immigration reform now!”
The occasion was the spirited, banner-bedecked April 10 rally in Seattle’s Occidental Park, organized by the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition (WIRC), an umbrella group of 60 labor, faith, business, community and student organizations.
The Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans was represented with a contingent and its colorful banner.
The crowd was swelled by several thousand who arrived in 75 chartered buses from Walla Walla, Mattawa, Kennewick, Yakima, Vancouver, Bellingham and Mount Vernon.
The Seattle rally was one of the largest and most diverse of events delivering the same message on the same day in several cities. More than a thousand Asian Pacific Islander Americans took part, together with Latinos and Africans, as well as substantial numbers of workers wearing their union T-shirts and jackets.
The campaign was given a further boost with demonstrations on Saturday, May 1.
The coalition is demanding enactment of legislation that first legalizes millions of undocumented immigrants, and then creates a clear system for workers to enter the U.S. with full labor protections.
“Patience is wearing thin for families torn apart by raids and deportations,” Pramila Jaypal, executive director of OneAmerica, told the crowd. “Millions who have tried to apply legally for family members to join them here wait – cruelly – for decades.
“Workers can no longer tolerate abusive employers who manipulate them because of their undocumented status, and good employers can no longer wait for workers to fill the tough jobs they have open. American workers should not be subjected to a two-tiered wage system that doesn’t serve anyone,” Jaypal said.

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