Immigrants and their supporters are expected to travel from Snohomish County to Seattle today to march in protest of what they say is unfair treatment of undocumented workers.
“This whole immigration situation affects everybody, from doctors to janitors, whether you’re in construction, a housekeeper or student,” said Marcela Diaz, the Snohomish County liaison for El Comite Pro-Amnistia, which is organizing the march.
Until immigrants have labor laws to protect them, the U.S. economy will suffer, Diaz said.
In its ninth year, the march is meant to bring attention to the immigration debate and further reform. Seattle’s event will be just one march of many occurring in cities throughout the country.
Under the motto, “We are not illegal, we are not undocumented, we are workers!” participants in Seattle will march beginning at 4 p.m. from Judkins Park in the Central District to Seattle Center near the lower Queen Anne neighborhood.
Priests at the county’s Catholic Churches have allowed El Comite to announce the march during Spanish-language services, and 12,000 flyers have been distributed in the county’s Hispanic stores, Diaz said.
Commercials for the march have aired on Univision, a Spanish-language news channel with a local affiliate.
There are an estimated 12 million or more immigrants in the United States illegally. An estimated 1 million people marched in 2006, but it’s likely that today’s turnout will be much smaller. With a presidential election overshadowing the immigration debate, tensions that boiled to overflowing in recent years are simmering now. Efforts to overhaul the immigration process, including proposals for amnesty and a guest worker program, have fallen flat during the past year.
Last year, participants protested raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs, the department charged with buckling down on illegal immigrants.
Today, Diaz said, they will cry out for standardized workers’ rights, including fair wages and other benefits.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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