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LOS ANGELES: The United States is one of the few countries in the
world that does not observe May 1 as Labor Day.
Instead, Americans celebrate their Labor Day on
the first Monday of September, not with official rites in tribute to
the working class but as a long weekend that immediately precedes
the start of the school year—and to say goodbye to summer.
For several years now Latinos and other
minorities in the United States have observed May Day as the
occasion to press for immigration reforms. The usually peaceful
marches and demonstrations were marred last year when scuffles broke
out between protesters and law enforcers at MacArthur Park in
downtown L.A. where a dozen or so people were hurt.
Last week’s May Day march in this city, where
thousands of activists from various parts of southern California
converged, turned out to be trouble-free. However, that did not mean
that the marchers were any less fervent in demanding changes in US
laws so that millions of “illegal aliens” could finally
legitimize their status.
The bulk of the “illegals” originated from
south of the border although Filipinos—some waving the national
tricolor—were able to put in a visible participation during the
May Day march.
In an article published by Asian Journal, a
leading Filipino-American newspaper, Joseph Pimentel reported how
one of the Filipino marchers, Mike Pedro, held up a Philippine flag
as he walked down Broadway Street. Pedro said he wanted everyone to
know that Filipinos are just as involved with the immigration issue
as the Latinos.
Pimentel quoted the Filipino marcher for
immigration reform saying: “I don’t think a lot of people know
that undocumented Filipinos are also under attack. They need
workers’ rights as well. Most people think that this is just a
Chicano, Latino or Mexican American thing, but all different
ethnicities [like] Filipinos, [other] Asians, Chinese should be
included.”
Some 30,000 were estimated to have marched
through Downtown L.A. forcing authorities to close off some streets
and redirect traffic. The protest, like similar mass actions in San
Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., condemned the
growing frequency of workplace raids by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officials, which have netted a number of
undocumented Filipinos—aside from the far more numerous Mexicans
and other Latin Americans.
Asian Journal’s Pimentel reported that last
year 4,077 illegal aliens were arrested in workplace raids by ICE,
which succeeded the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) and whose post-Sept. 11 operations have focused on
securing US borders more tightly than ever before.
A good number of the undocumented workers ICE
rounded up are believed to be Filipinos, who have since been
returned to the Philippines.
Estrella Cervas was another Filipino interviewed
by Asian Journal during the May Day march. A case manager for the
nongovernmental Pilipino Workers Center, Cervas confirmed the rising
number of Filipinos swept up by the ICE raids and summarily
deported.
“It’s a very serious issue in our
community,” Cervas told Asian Journal. “We’ve seen ICE go into
their business and their homes. We had one case where a Filipino was
taken as she took the Greyhound bus. She was later deported.”
Aside from demanding a stop to the ICE workplace
raids, the May Day protesters also urged U.S. authorities to pave
“a path to citizenship” for some 12 million illegal aliens.
Few of the marchers, if any, expect any positive
response from the federal government for as long as the Republican
George W. Bush occupies the White House.
Some are hoping that Dubya’s widespread
unpopularity due to the Iraq war and America’s economic troubles
would make it easier for a more immigrant-friendly Democrat to win
the coming presidential election. But even the chance of a
Democratic Party victory in November is becoming slim.
Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack
Obama of Illinois continue go at it with the proverbial hammer and
thongs—cancelling each other out and making even some registered
Democrats seriously consider voting for the Republican John McCain.
If another Republican gets to succeed Bush,
Filipinos who illegally reside—work—in the United States will
just have to get used to the idea that they would have to continue
remaining invisible as best they can.
dansoy26@yahoo.com
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