Southwestern College students and faculty were among the nearly 5,000 May Day protesters who marched from Chicano Park to the downtown Federal Building to denounce Arizona’s controversial new law that expands police power to detain and deport migrants.
Five days earlier about 200 people congregated outside the same building in response to the signing of the new bill that many Latinos and civil rights advocates claim will lead to racial profiling. There was one counter-demonstrator.
San Diego police divided Front Street in half during the May 1 event with protesters on one side and counter demonstrators on the other. About 100 people came to support the Arizona law.
Local graphic designer Leigh Mahon, who opposed the law, held a sign that read “Do these shoes make me look illegal?” in response to comments by Congressman Brian Bilbray defending the law.
Bilbray said training would allow officers to be able to identify undocumented residents by the way they behave, dress and by the shoes they wear.
Carol Jahnkow of San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice said the group cancelled its scheduled meeting that evening to participate in the rally.
“No one should be singled out in our society and have to prove that they’re Americans,” she said.
Loch David Crane of Border Patrol Auxiliary disagreed. Waving a large American flag, he said legal Americans should not be afraid to show their ID when asked to by officers. Crane, who is also a San Diego Minuteman, was the lone supporter at the Chicano Park rally and could be heard from 30 feet away with a megaphone.
“It’s a push in the right direction,” he said. “Now millions of illegal people can be displaced and millions of Americans can find jobs.”
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 on April 23. It requires Arizona police to question people about their immigration status if police have “reasonable suspicion” they are in the country illegally.
Arizona legislators modified the bill just seven days later in an attempt to define what that meant.
The American Friends Service Committee said it plans to challenge the bill in court and meet with elected officials to reverse its enactment. Christian Ramirez, the group’s leader, said members want to ensure that policymakers are held responsible for the bill and will be punished at the ballot box come re-election time.
“Arizona sadly is now in the headlines,” he said. “Not because of social justice, but because it is one of the most racist states, not only in America but across the entire hemisphere.”
Crane said there is already a system in place that allows people into the country legally. There is a direct path to enter the nation lawfully and people should use that path, he said.
“Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did it and look at the honor he has,” he said.
The bill is scheduled to take effect in August.
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