I am glad that people are writing about this issue and that people are choosing to talk about it. This shows that the march and everything that surrrounds it is important to people and that many people have something to say about it.

I didn't get to see the whole march, as a matter of fact I only made the end when there were only a couple hundred left standing and cheering in front of the Federal building. It was amazing and emotional to see and I regret not showing up earlier.

We need these people here and they have a right to fight for what they believe in. I mean hello they are the ones in the kitchens, in the fields, working at the car washes, tending to our gardens. It wouldn't work without them here. There would not be rich people if it weren't for poor people and these immigrants do a whole lot of the work.

I hope this starts a movement and I hope that it will result in change for these people. I wasn't born here however I am llegal, but I know many people who aren't and to imagine them sent home is just wrong.

Obviously something needs to change and I don't see the wall as a solution.

The people in power need to use their fucking heads for once and take the march as a wake up call.

There's more to say, I could talk about this all day and I have with my mother.

Right on Lydia Chavez! Thank you for the article.

I'm for earned legalization. Illegal immigrants work, pay taxes, and serve in our armed forces. Funny, nobody objects when they deposit money into our banks or pay billions into Social Security--money they will never receive. Nobody objects when they harvest our food. And nobody objected when they cleaned up Ground Zero after it was considered too toxic for American workers.

Funny, how the people howling most about illegal immigration are the same bunch who always vote for union busting conservatives who refuse to raise the minimum wage. This is especially true in the South, the region of America with the most poverty. They are they reason conservatives control every branch of government. It will take immigrants to revive the union movement because too many Americans have given up the fight and fallen victim to 24 hour corporate propaganda. Too many poor Americans cast their vote based on bogus wedge issues like gay marriage and Affirmative Action. They’ve been fooled and cannot be counted on to improve the lot of working people in this country.

I'm tired of the double talk and the hypocrisy. These people are needed here and they have earned their way in as far as I'm concerned. The government needs to pass comprehensive immigration legislation and stop using this issue to distract people from high gas prices and the war in Iraq.

Xaime and cgkey, get your sorry asses down into the hills of Morelia with AK 47s and some Chinese RPGs. Attack D.F., the seat of power for the ruling oligarchy that has used the campesinos as slaves since the first revolution. Drive out Vincente Fox. Go after the 19 ruling billionaire families who control the Mexican government and keep the the people so close to starvation that they have to migrate out of their own land to seek a better life.

What the hell are you doing here anyway? The Mexicans who made it to the U.S. don't need you half as bad as the poor people of Mexico. If you really want to start a movement, don't screw around, go to the source of the "undocumented immigrant" problem. Bring the ruling class Brahmans of Mexico to their knees. Viva la gente! Viva la revolución.

You want to form a union and have a strike? Hey! I'm behind you all the way. Only do it in Mexico City and Veracruz. Viva la Huelga! Mexican workers united against the oppressive oligarchy in Ciudad Mexico.

I can see you cabrones ten years from now, running the country of Mexico, they will write books about the day you rode up the Paseo de la Reforma on top of a captured tank and how you climbed the Columna de la Independencia and gave a speech through a bullhorn, "Levantarse patriotas!"

And you'll be celebrated in the United States too. The greatest reverse migration in the history of the world! Mexicans returned to reclaim their native land from the grip of the oligarchic oppressors.

Few people willingly become expatriots when things are good at home. So I'll join with you in support of the idea that the Mexican government who forces its people to live abroad and send money home so their families may eat, is a government that has to be dissolved for the good of the people.

But I guess that'd be too much work for you, and it would be dangerous too. I'd say if you tried it, your chances would be the same as towing an iceberg to Guadalajara. (Sigh) But I guess you'll just stay here in Atzlan Norte where it's safe and you can bitch about how racist and how evil America is for wanting to exercise sovereignty and secure our borders.

Still waiting for an answer, putas!

Laurel Wrote:

"Why are we enabling only ONE class of immigrant (i.e., illegal) and ignoring all the others? "

I'm not sure why we are doing this. This has always seemed a bit racist to me. By only enabling illegal hispanic workers, it is sort of a slap in the face to the rest of the world.

If we -really need- to bring in a mass of immigrants, I would be more likely to favor bringing in immigrants from Darfur, who need a place so they won't -die-, or Palestinians, which might possibly resolve the right of return issue and stabalize the region (after all, if they weren't living in refugee camps maybe they would be a little less hostile, Israel obviously isn't going to help them, so maybe we could), or a more diverse mass of people, that wouldn't fundamentally shift the culture in one direction.

My mother is an immigrant (legal), but I was never offered any instruction in her native language. No... my mother spoke English and she taught me her language at home. It is only for Spanish-speaking people that we ever consider that sort of special treatment... everyone else just has to deal. And they do.

If you let in a large mass of people from one specific culture, it shifts your culture dramatically. Most people don't react well to that. Ask the French. They let in too many North Africans, and now have a severe cultural problem on their hands. They were not able to absorb them, and now have a huge, dissastisfied underclass. The French are unhappy, the North Africans are unhappy, and they are rioting. A culture shouldn't let in more people than it can adequately absorb and provide for. Most people don't want a massive, sudden, cultural shift. Yes, cultures change. It needs to be more gradual, not a huge movement "en masse".

Some of the cultural changes I am worried about include gay marriage and abortion rights. Remember the role of the Hispanic churches and the Knight Initiative in California? Yes, a lot of many-generationed Americans voted against gay rights, and I'm sure there were Hispanics who voted for gay rights, but the Hispanic churches played a decisive role. The fact is, there -will- be a cultural shift. Now, perhaps people will decide that the cultural shift is worth it. Maybe gay and abortion rights aren't as important as having more fluid borders. All factors do need to be considered.

I understand wanting to help people out. But we can't help the whole world. It is impractical. Our schools barely have enough money for our legal residents... we can't make them open to everyone in the world who wants to attend them. We can't have both open borders and the type of services from our government that we have come to expect. It is not possible. We can't have it all. We can't have both open borders and fair wages in our country. We can't have everything.