Thousands in Phoenix protest Arizona's immigration law

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Source: LA Times

Under a broiling desert sun, thousands of protesters on Saturday morning slowly marched five miles to the state capitol here to rally against Arizona's controversial new immigration law. There was no official crowd estimate, but the march is one of the largest demonstrations since Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law on April 23. The law makes it a state crime to lack immigration papers and requires police to determine the status of people they stop and suspect are in the country illegally.

Demonstrators for Saturday's protest against SB 1070 came from as far as Rhode Island and Louisiana. They streamed down the broad boulevards in a several-blocks long procession of white shirts, American flags and umbrellas to protect against temperatures expected to reach the high 90s. Dennis DuVall, 68, drove down from the Arizona city of Prescott, 100 miles north. "It's my civic duty," said DuVall, a retired bus driver. "It shows commitment. People are willing to come out and walk five miles in 100 degrees. It's important."

The diverse crowd included a number of families like the Baezes, who drove from San Diego on Friday night. Juan and Guadalupe Baez, their six children ranging in age from 2 to 18 and Guadalupe's mother all wore matching white T-shirts that Juan, a 43-year-old trucker, had designed. On the back were the words: "We are hard workers, not criminals! We believe in USA justice. Arizona's SB 1070 is not justice."

"It's good to come here to help people," said Baez, who emigrated from Mexico illegally 24 years ago but was legalized in the amnesty signed by President Reagan in 1986. He is now a U.S. citizen. Passage of the Arizona law shocked him. "I thought the government is more noble, more fair here," he said. Another family pushed a toddler who held a placard that said, "Mommy, why is my skin color a crime?" Several banners targeted President Obama, with whom many Latino activists express disappointment for failing to push immigration reform. "Obama ¿Donde Esta la Reforma?" asked one.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-protest-20100529,0,1128081.story