Philadelphia Demonstration

Like most illegal immigrants, Juan Garcia does not usually court attention.

But Tuesday afternoon, within yards of Philadelphia police and members of a border-control vigilante group, the undocumented factory worker from Mexico stood on Independence Mall among 1,000 protesters waving Latin American flags and signs that read, in Spanish, “We are workers, not terrorists.”

The rally was designed to draw attention to a congressional proposal, called draconian by immigrant activists, that would crack down on illegal residents, their employers, and churches, charities and other groups that help them.

Organizers of the event, part of the larger “A Day Without an Immigrant” protest, also called for a Valentine’s Day labor strike by the region’s undocumented workers – particularly Mexicans, described as crucial to the Center City restaurant industry.

The holiday is the second-most-popular day of the year for dining out, according to the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association. (Mother’s Day is the most popular.)

Immigrant advocates hope to convince restaurateurs that they have a stake in scuttling H.R. 4437, or the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 13, 2006

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