Star Spangled Spanish

[Human]

For me I have no problem with it, as long as it is NOT at Official Government Functions.

 

Other then that go for it, do it in Russian , African or what ever.

[Guest Hooked on Phonics]

Here is an interesting story.

 

****************************

 

US immigrants stage boycott day

 

Immigrant workers in the United States are staging a day of nationwide action in a major protest against proposed immigration reform.

Millions are expected to stay away from work and school, and avoid spending money, in an effort to show how much immigrants matter to the economy.

 

Called A Day Without Immigrants, the protest comes as Congress wrestles with reform of immigration laws.

 

About 11.5m illegal immigrants live in the US, many entering via Mexico.

 

Impact unknown

 

In one of the earliest demonstrations of the day, about 1,200 marched in the town of Homestead in rural Florida, home to a large Latino population.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4961734.stm

[Luke_Wilbur]

News is quite busy today as Congress prepares to debate Immigration Reform.

I think this strike will be a good guage to see how Americans are dependant on immigrant labor.

We saw what happened when the port labor unions striked. We saw what happened when the NY transit labor unions striked.

 

The following is a statement issued today by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, (AFSCME) AFL-CIO, President Gerald W. McEntee.

 

AFSCME calls on Congress to pass legislation that will allow hard-working immigrants to earn their citizenship. We are a nation of immigrants. The promise of the American dream is what makes this country great. It is unfair to deny that dream to immigrants who come here seeking a better life and instead make them felons.

 

There is no question that our current immigration system is broken. Criminalizing immigrants who work hard and play by the rules is wrong. As long as undocumented workers lack basic protections under our laws, they will remain vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination.

 

Immigration reform is an important fight for civil rights and economic, and social justice for all working families.

 

The White House also had a statement on the issue.

 

The President calls on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform to secure our border, improve enforcement of our laws, meet the needs of our economy, and uphold our highest values. The President also discussed his proposal for a temporary worker program that rejects amnesty, allows foreign workers to fill jobs that Americans are not willing to do, and reduces illegal immigration, smuggling, and crime at the border.

 

The President has called on Congress to increase the number of green cards that can lead to citizenship, and he supports increasing the number of visas available for foreign-born workers in highly skilled fields. New citizens have an obligation to learn the customs and values that define our Nation - including liberty and equality for all, respect for the beliefs of others, justice under the law, and the English language.

 

Since President Bush took office, funding for border security has increased by 66 percent. The Border Patrol has been expanded to more than 12,000 agents, an increase of more than 2,700 agents, or nearly 30 percent. The President's FY07 budget funds another 1,500 new agents. Agents are being provided with cutting-edge technology like infrared cameras, advanced motion sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Protective infrastructure, such as vehicle barriers and fencing in urban areas, is being installed. Manpower, technology, and infrastructure are being integrated in more coordinated ways than ever before.

 

Several U.S. Catholic Cardinals and Bishops urged humane and compassionate immigration legislation as the Senate prepared to debate immigration reform.

 

The U.S. bishops want a "comprehensive reform" that deals compassionately with the millions of undocumented aliens in the United States, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said in brief remarks at a photo opportunity between meetings on Capitol Hill.

 

The U.S. bishops have expressed support for many aspects of a compromise bill expected to reach the Senate floor in early May, but they are also concerned about harsh enforcement provisions in the legislation, including expedited removal of illegal aliens along the border and denial of protections to asylum seekers.

 

Cardinal McCarrick and Cardinals Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles and William H. Keeler of Baltimore started the day with a breakfast meeting on immigration reform with White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and other White House aides.

 

Also attending that session was Vincentian Father David M. O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America.

 

From the White House Cardinals Mahony and McCarrick went to Capitol Hill to meet with several senators on immigration reform legislation. Following a meeting with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston joined them and the three prelates met with Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill.

 

A meeting with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., capped off the cardinals' Hill visit.

 

At a brief press conference following the meeting with Reid, Cardinal Mahony was asked his views on the proposed immigrant boycott of work and school on May 1, when demonstrations for humane immigration legislation were planned across the country. Activists working on behalf of immigrants were divided over the use of a work-school boycott as a demonstration tactic.

 

The cardinal said he hoped Los Angeles children would attend school that day to learn about immigration issues and write their legislators, and after school join a march planned in Los Angeles, which was to start at 4 p.m. in MacArthur Park.

 

During another brief media event before the cardinals' final meeting on the Hill, Frist said he hoped the Senate would be able to craft an immigration bill that would enjoy strong bipartisan support.

 

One of the key elements in immigration reform that the cardinals and the U.S. bishops have been working for is a program that would provide a path to citizenship for large numbers of undocumented workers already living in the United States.

 

The compromise bill the Senate will consider allows undocumented workers who have resided in the United States for more than five years to obtain a conditional immigrant visa and eventually permanent residency after fulfilling certain conditions; it sets more stringent rules and conditions for those who have been in the United States less than five years.

 

The cardinals were in Washington for the April 28 American Cardinals Dinner, an annual fund-raising event for The Catholic University of America.

 

American Civil Liberties Union and the AFL-CIO will hold a joint briefing to discuss concerns with the current immigration legislation this Thursday at 2 p.m. at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. Both organizations agree that immigration reform must reflect American values and must not violate workers' privacy through an intrusive, bureaucratic national ID requirement.

 

The ACLU and AFL-CIO believe that immigration reform should build a path towards citizenship and not create new obstacles. America has, and must remain, a country that celebrates and welcomes those it draws into its borders.

 

Speakers will discuss the proposed Employment Eligibility Verification System, its lack of privacy protections, and its potential negative impact on all American workers. The program would require - for the first time -all workers to obtain a federal agency's permission to work. All employers would be required to participate in a national employment eligibility verification program and the impact on all Americans' privacy and wallets could be significant. Conservative estimates place the cost of the system to be at least $11.7 billion a year.

[Guest human_*]

It's a game of words; It should have been called “A Day With Out Illegal Immigrants".

 

By addressing it as "A Day with out Immigrants", what the Leaders of the protest are saying that it is all inclusive "which it is not".

 

Also remember that those of us here legally CAN VOTE. Those here illegally CAN NOT VOTE, or at least not legally.

 

Just so everyone knows; I AM LATINO.

 

Look People!!! I am not blind, I know that those here will eventually become Legal Residents, but it is also a question about Latino Power with in the Latino Community.

 

Then those new immigrants whether they are here legally or not will vote democrat. So the democrats have an interest in not having a fence AT ALL.

 

The democrats can not get the latino vote through those of us here legally so they are turning to those who don't know yet the democrats games.

 

But the democrats have a problem of their own, it's called the African American Vote. I myself would LOVE to know what they "the democrats" have promised the African American Community for their silence on this??????????????????????

[Guest Cliff]

I am not Latino and I am in no way a Democrat. This protest did nothing. If the illegals don't like life here then I say get the hell out of our country.