Sociology

Sociology

This paper briefly discusses the events of May 1, 2006, in the United States. The discussion begins by explaining the reasons behind the marching of immigrants in cities and towns in the U.S during this day. The organizations and start of the demonstrations are also regarded important in emphasizing the relevance of the demonstration to the immigrants. This information provides proof that the demonstrations were justified and expected to cause changes in the lives of, not only illegal but also legal immigrants. The paper further describes the magnitude of the demonstrations across the country stating the high records of demonstrators witnessed in some major cities in the country. Also, the consequences of the demonstrations are discussed to describe the state of the demos and the impacts on the cities towns and other people. Lastly, the paper discussed the aftermath of the demonstration and the impacts in had on the immigrants and the rest of the people in the United States.
Protest against Illegal Immigration Policies
May 1, 2006, was the culmination of a series of protests in the United States that began on March 10 in Chicago and continued for eight weeks. The protests occurred in major cities and comprised of mostly Latin American immigrants, Immigrants from parts of Asia and Europe and legal advocates. The demonstrations experienced thousands of people with Los Angeles City experiencing the largest number of protesters. The protests were in response to the proposed immigration policy that was perceives as being unfair to the immigrants.

The proposed policy was referred to as H.R 4437 and was going to increase penalties for illegal immigration into the United States (Hing & Johnson, 2007). The provisions of the document stated that all undocumented immigrants, those who participated in their entry into the country and those who contributed to their stay in the country would be regarded as felons. The protests were also against the already existing immigration laws that were denying immigrants their freedom of staying and working in the country (Narro, Wong & Shadduck-Hernandez, 2007).
The organizers of the protests intentionally selected May 1 date to coincide with the International Workers Day (May Day) that is usually observed as a national holiday in most parts of Europe, Asia, and Mexico. However, the day is not officially recognized in the U.S because it is associated with communism. The demonstrations called for all the employees and business people to boycott work and join the protests in a call for immigration reforms. The organizers of the demonstrations urged supporters to avoid buying, selling and attending schools for the purpose of joining the demonstrations. In solidarity with the U.S immigrants, international labor unions held demonstrations in other countries such as Mexico where they held a one-day boycott of United States Products (Hing & Johnson, 2007).
The extent of the protests was seen at the begging of weeks of marching on April 10 as 102 cities participated in the demonstrations. Dallas alone recorded more than 500,000 protesters marching through the downtown of the city. Loss Angeles recorded 200,000 immigrants marching towards the city hall in the morning hours and more than 400,000 protested in the evening. In general, the country witnessed millions of protesters during on the same day that attracted the media and received exclusive media coverage. The most of the demonstrations were peaceful except for a violent occurrence in California and Los Angeles where a few demonstrators were arrested (Hing & Johnson, 2007). The organizers had hoped that the demonstrations would bring activities of the country to a halt, but this did not happen although disruptions of the normal activities were evident.
The goal of the demonstration was to highlight the plight of millions of immigrants residing in the United States. The boycott took advantage of the proposed change of immigration policies to bring to light other problems facing immigrants in the country and provoked debates in the media and public forums in an attempt to find solutions from both sides of the issue (Narro, Wong & Shadduck-Hernandez, 2007). Following the protests, the then U.S’s president, Bush announced the country’ plan to secure the southern U.S border and the deployment of 6000 national guard troops at the border. Unfortunately, the H.R 4437 bill was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2006, where only some illegal immigrants would be would be granted an opportunity for citizenship. The law emphasized strengthening of border security to prevent more illegal immigrants from entering the country (Hing & Johnson, 2007). More negotiations were held to reform this policy, but no agreements were reached.
References
Hing, B. O., & Johnson, K. R. (2007). The immigrant rights marches of 2006 and the prospects
for a new civil rights movement. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 42.
Narro, V., Wong, K., & Shadduck-Hernandez, J. (2007). The 2006 immigrant uprising:
Origins and Future. In New Labor Forum (Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 48). Sage Publications Ltd..