YAKIMA – Several thousand people demanding immigration reform marched through one of Yakima on Tuesday, voicing their frustration over the lack of progress but pledging to stay united in their cause.
Police estimated the crowd at between 3,000 and 4,000 people, far less than the estimated 10,000 demonstrators a year ago. But their voices were loud as they ambled through downtown streets waving U.S. and Mexican flags, then rallied at a city park.
“Nationally, we are one – whole,” said Manuel Rodriguez, 53, a local businessman and one of the event’s organizers. Immigrants are just one part of that whole, he said.
“We need to get the message to Congress and the White House that we are an important part,” he said. “That we want, we are asking for, immigration reform.”
In downtown Seattle, police estimated about 4,000 people marched across town to the Seattle Center, waving signs along with U.S. flags and the banners of Mexico, Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
A much larger immigration rights march last year was marred by a car that struck a group of marchers on their downtown Seattle route.
This year, as in Yakima, the old farmworkers’ chant of “Si, Se Puede” – “Yes we can” – rang out from protesters.
Nationwide, Tuesday’s rallies produced only a fraction of the million-plus protesters who turned out last year, as fear about raids and frustration that the marches haven’t pushed Congress to pass reform kept many people at home.
“It doesn’t matter what color our skin is. It doesn’t matter what color our hair is, as we stand together and say justice needs to be served,” Yakima Mayor Dave Edler said at Miller Park, before protesters set out on foot.
Many people traveled to Yakima from throughout the agricultural Yakima Valley, home to thousands of acres of fruits and vegetables. Growers largely rely on immigrants to harvest their crops.
About 75 people stood at one corner of the parade route to protest against the marchers, including a local group of Minutemen lobbying for a border crackdown. Waving signs that read “Scofflaws go home” and “Go back to your country,” some jeered as the marchers walked by, but the event remained peaceful.
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