THOUSANDS RALLY FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

County demonstrations empty schools, stores, fields

 

by Claudia Meléndez Salinas     
Herald Salinas Bureau

When farmworker organizers combed the Salinas Valley on Monday morning and saw only a smattering of harvesting crews, they had a hunch their planned march had great potential.

Still, some were in for a big surprise.

"I don’t think I was prepared to see this crowd," said Salinas activist Silvia Huerta, one of the main organizers of the march. "I’ve never seen so many people come out. It’s historic."

Thousands of people in the Salinas Valley canceled their regular Monday activities to take part in a march through Salinas that organizers are calling the biggest in the city’s history. Estimates vary between 13,000 by police and 25,000 by organizers.

The biggest demonstration left shortly after 10 a.m. from St. Mary of the Nativity Church, led by Bishop Sylvester Ryan of the Monterey Diocese, United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodríguez and several local elected officials, including Assemblyman Simón Salinas, D-Salinas and Monterey County Supervisor Fernando Armenta.

"Today, farmworkers made this day historical, and we wanted to be part of their voices," said Rodríguez on why he chose to participate in the Salinas march. "This is tremendous."

The scene in Salinas was repeated throughout the Central Coast, as immigrant rights advocates and their supporters took to the streets on what supporters called a National Day of Action for Immigrant Rights, a series of nationwide events to demand legislation that would give a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented workers.

Smaller marches left from Cristo Rey Catholic Church and El Dorado Park, eventually merging with the biggest group at North Sanborn Road and East Alisal Street. The marches developed mostly without incidents, police reported.

"It really has been peaceful for the amount of people involved. We’re estimating about 13,000," said Salinas Police Sgt. Terry Heffington. There were only three incidents reported involving angry citizens and annoyed motorists.

"That says a lot for the people who organized this," Heffington said.

About 250 law enforcement officers controlled the crowds, including about 150 members of the Salinas Police Department, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, probation officers, Salinas Valley State Prison, fire and emergency medical services personnel, and nonsworn authorities as well.

The CHP arranged for air support to monitor the crowds, but for the most part, the march stuck to its prearranged route.

About 4,000 students from the Salinas Union High School District did not attend school Monday, Superintendent Roger Antón said. Many of them could be seen taking part in the march.

At around 1 p.m., three hours after the largest contingent had set off from St. Mary’s church, the crowd emerged from East Laurel Drive, making its way toward the Constitution Park soccer fields. The long line of families, students, farmworkers and other immigrants supporters carpeted East Laurel for more than a mile, with thousands of people waving American and Mexican flags, and banners from the UFW and the Teamsters.

Saul Barrera, 27, a construction worker, asked for the day off to participate in the marches. He and another 20 co-workers were off, he said, and most of them planned to join the rally.

Most of East Salinas’ business were closed Monday, and a few other eateries in Salinas were also shuttered, including La Fogata restaurant and Tico’s Tacos. A Burger King in South Main Street was only serving out of its drive-through window.

Supporters of the National Day of Action were calling for an all-out economic boycott, and even though many companies were closed, shoppers could still be seen throughout town.

Even though he’s sympathetic to the plight of undocumented immigrants, Alex Lopez went into a Target store Monday to buy his sons toy cars.

"I’ve got kids. I can’t march. I can’t take off work, but I respect what’s going on," he said.

Still, a great number of citizens and legal residents showed their solidarity with the undocumented population.

"We’re supporting our co-workers," said Javier Quintero, 50, a Salinas resident who works harvesting lettuce. "It’s amazing that we’re fighting to do the jobs nobody else wants to do."

Organizers had planned for the biggest march to take place at 4 p.m., thinking that most people would work. It turned out that most people took the day off to take part in the morning demonstration, so the afternoon event was canceled. Well, sort off.

A contingent from Soledad and Gonzales arrived in Salinas about 3 p.m., thinking they would join a huge crowd. They were disappointed to find the crowd had dwindled, but still marched around the soccer field holding a huge American flag.

"Everyone was ready to march," said Sonia Jaramillo, a Gonzales School Board trustee and organizer of the event. About 1,000 marched around Gonzales before noon, and then many of them boarded cars and buses to come to Salinas.

Only about 10 percent of businesses in Soledad remained open Monday, said Soledad Mayor Richard Ortiz. About 300 people marched and some came to Salinas in the afternoon, said organizer Alejandro Chavez, who’s running for supervisor. A caravan of 200 cars drove Monday morning from Greenfield, organizer Eulogio Solano said.

The afternoon march drew around 3,000 people and one lone opponent. Bill Carrothers, a semi-retired construction manager, stood near the bathrooms at the soccer fields holding a 4-foot-by-3-foot white sign that read "Just say no to illegals. Support HR 4437."

Approved in December, House of Representatives bill 4437 would make it a felony to be in this country without proper immigration papers. Its passage galvanized the immigrant community and pushed them into the streets.

But even though he was surrounded by a crowd with a completely different set of views, nobody was disrespectful, he said.

"A man even said, ‘You have the right.’ It says a lot about this people," he said. "Hey, if it’s American to accept dissent, they’re American already."

     
Herald staff writer George Sánchez contributed to this report.