Immigrants, backers rally in Portland
Immigrants, backers rally in Portland
About 1,000 participate in the peaceful march
September 4, 2006
PORTLAND -- With a jab at Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Saxton and demands for sweeping changes to immigration laws, more than 1,000 immigrants and supporters marched through Portland on Sunday, one of several such Labor Day weekend events planned nationwide.
The march coincides with signs of growing sentiment against undocumented immigrants among some Oregonians and precedes congressional efforts to resolve differences in two very different immigration bills in the House and Senate.
The Oregon Republican Party approved a resolution in July to deny citizenship to babies born on U.S. soil to illegal and legal immigrants who are not citizens, an action that likely would require amending the U.S. Constitution.
Saxton has not endorsed the resolution but has advocated strict controls on undocumented residents. As the demonstration passed Saxton's campaign office Sunday, marchers stopped to chant, "Saxton, immigrant basher. We'll remember in November."
There was no sign that anybody was in the office.
Jorge Torres, a member of Voz, a Portland group trying to organize day laborers, told people at the rally that those workers are the ones who "keep houses clean, gardens tended, restaurants open." He said the laborers do "the dirtiest, most dangerous, most difficult jobs" while also paying taxes, renting apartments and buying at supermarkets.
He noted the recent arrival of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in Cornelius, where members monitor day-labor sites and photograph license plates of prospective employers of illegal immigrants to send to federal immigration and tax officials.
There have been similar marches in Portland and Salem this year, some drawing several thousand participants.
Sunday's event was peaceful, although police ushered at least one sidewalk heckler away. Three people carrying a cardboard sign reading "No borders, no nation," took part without incident.
