March 25 Coalition Statement
From Uncovered
From the March 25 Coalition PDF dated April 4, 2006
The massive March 25 demonstration in Los Angeles of well over one million undocumented workers, legal residents and their supporters—along with protests and walkouts throughout the United States—is irrefutable evidence that a new Civil Rights and workers’ rights movement is on the rise.
...Those rights cannot be realized with anything less than a comprehensive, all-encompassing process of full legalization for all immigrants.
The schemes being debated in Congress only aim to either criminalize the undocumented and by extension all immigrants, or to provide an extremely limited possibility for undocumented workers to be able to live, work and remain in the country they have adopted as their own.
The immigrants’ rights movement cannot be satisfied to accept “guest worker” or other repressive schemes from Congress or Bush. Some say that amnesty and legalization are not realistic, and that it is even dangerous to raise the demand for full equality.
[...compares their movement to the Civil Rights movement...]
...Today this new Civil and workers' rights movement demands amnesty, legalization and full equality.
This statement was initiated by the March 25 Coalition, which organized the historic march in Los Angeles. Initial signers include,
The following is the list of signatories:
- Gloria Saucedo, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional - San Fernando Valley
- Javier Rodriguez, Independent Writer
- Angela Sambrano, Central American Resource Center
- Raul Murillo, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional - Los Angeles
- Jorge Rodriguez, AFSCME
- Alejandro Ahumada, Joaquin Murrieta Association
- Jesse Diaz, Centro de Jornaleros, Pomona
- Nativo Lopez, Mexican American Political Association & Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana
- Antonio Rodriguez, Civil Rights Attorney
- Felipe Aguirre, Grupo Pro Uno & Maywood City Council
- Jaime Rodriguez , Activist
- Juan Jose Gutierrez, Latino Movement USA
- Joel Ochoa-Perez , International Association of Machinists
- Miguel Lopez, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Enrique Vela, Political Activist
- Martha Soriano, Casa de Mexicano
- Ventura Gutierrez, Bi-National Bracero-Proa Alliance
- Macrina Cardenas, Mexico Solidarity Network
- Elias Rashmawi, National Board Chairperson, National Council of Arab Americans (NCA)
- Arturo P. Garcia, People's CORE Immigrant Rights and Social Justice Coordinator
- Brian Becker, National Coordinator, ANSWER Coalition
- Mario Santos, Filipino Workers Association - San Francisco
- Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Partnership for Civil Justice
- Mahdi Bray, Exec. Dir., Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
- Jack Vergara, Coalition In Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR) - Los Angeles
- Vener Malabanan, Pesante-USA
- Christine Araquel, Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (Southern California)
- Johneric Concordia, Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB, Pro-People Youth) USA
- Naseer Aruri, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
- Hamid Khan, Executive Director, South Asian Network
- James Lafferty, Exec. Dir., National Lawyers Guild - LA
- Ken Roh, Editor, Minjok-Tongshin
- Pastor Joseph Paik, Claremont United Methodist Church
This movement's next major action will be "The Great American Boycott 2006" on May 1. It will be a nationwide day without an immigrant when immigrants and their supporters stay home from work and school and businesses are closed. We will demand amnesty and full rights for all immigrants.
