Activists Take Immigration Reform to the Streets

May 1, 2007 — -- Activists demanding immigration reform and a citizenship path for the country's 12 million illegal immigrants rallied nationwide, hoping to jumpstart Congressional action and make their collective voice heard in the din of the 2008 presidential landscape.

Though thousands are expected to take to the streets for the cause, turnout is not likely to match last year's historic count.

Cecilia Muñoz, Senior Vice President of the National Council of La Raza, the country's largest Civil Rights and Advocacy non-profit, isn't concerned about the numbers, citing the political aftershocks of the rallies as an important indicator that the movement is not losing steam.

"You don't make history every year," Muñoz said, "[Last year's rallies] had a launching effect in a variety of different kinds of ways to engage and saw the impact of that across the country."

While last year she says millions were engaged in the actual marches "since then local organizations have developed multiple ways for people to be engaged."

The role Spanish-language media's role played in galvanizing the community around the cause was an important one, though Muñoz points out "it's not the first time we've seen ethnic media have that impact -- but it did it in a way the rest of the country could see."

Referencing the welfare and immigration reform issues that plagued the 1996 elections, Muñoz says then "the ethnic press played an enormous role: in generating the message and communicating the outrage."

Of the 2006 immigration marches, Muñoz says, "I think one of the things that last year shone a spotlight on was the engagement of young people in these communities and in this movement."

The student walk-outs that dominated press coverage in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco were not an organized part of last year's rallies that engaged young people in community activism.