“Si, se puede!” was the cry of the crowd in Chicago today — yes we can. Thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens and their supporters gathered in Union Park, then marched down Jackson Street to The Loop. Jamming the plaza, as well as the surrounding streets and sidewalks, they rallied to cheer on those who had come to speak.
They demanded legalization for all immigrants. They patted each other on the back for working hard and having dreams. They lauded politicians who devote themselves to representing “the people,” which evidently, in their minds, includes “the people” who have come here illegally and don’t get to vote. They demanded justice. They jeered HR4437, the House bill passed last December that would make coming here illegally a criminal offense, rather than a civil one, that calls for a fence on the border, and that would penalize anyone who hires and/or helps someone to come or stay here illegally.
Mayor Daley even got up to add his support, which made no sense:
“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re an immigrant,” he shouted. “We’re all immigrants!”
???
“Si, se puede!” Yes we can WHAT, one wonders?
Yes we can…make demands of the government, even though we’re here illegally? Yes we can…break your laws then demand to not only not be penalized, but to be rewarded for it? Yes we can…take taxpayer-funded services like education and healthcare, and in exchange we’ll drive down wages and refuse to assimilate? Yes we can…shout loud enough about our civil rights that the politicians will forget that civil rights are, by definition, for citizens?
Watching these people flood the streets of Chicago today, shouting angrily for what is not theirs to ask, let alone demand, I listened. Amid the shouts of “Si, se puede!” and among the signs and banners calling for legalization and guest worker programs, I listened.
I listened for an answer from within myself and found that, walking along with these thousands of people cheering and yelling and demanding, my answer hadn’t changed.
No, you can’t.
X-posted from: Freedom Folks (with more reportage there)
Technorati Tags
Illegal Immigration
Illegal Aliens
Chicago
HR4437
Minutemen
Said freedomfolks @ 7:10 pm | Permalink
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, website trumps email, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
My question is, if all of those people were illegals… then why wasn’t ICE out there with the paddy wagons rounding these folks up? If illegals can walk freely out and claim that they’re illegal with out any fear of repurcussion, then I am afraid that their cry of “Yes we can” might be true..
Comment by Duncan Avatar — 3/10/2006 @ 11:00 pm
That is a better question than you know Duncan as MJ and I both called ICE and informed them that Downtown Chicago was being stormed by illegals.
A funny aside, the lady who answered the local number was Hispanic and spoke in very broken english
We were basically shuffled around until we were given a voicemail option and ignored. Your tax dollars at work!
Comment by freedomfolks — 3/11/2006 @ 12:45 am
[…] d in Chicago and could attempt to do what happened in the Netherlands (or Liberals hope). The Wide Awakes Blog was all over this event and wouldn’t you […]
Pingback by Conservative Culture » “Si, se puede!” - Illegals Take Chicago — 3/11/2006 @ 1:05 pm
im a in immigrant us army soldier fighting for this country, i came here as a child not knowing right from wrong. others as well, by the time theyre old enough to know whats going on, you really think theyre going to leave their children, or any other family they have, and risk not coming back to them to go to mexico and apply for residency? would u, knowing you might be banned 10 re entry to the us? i wont fight for this damn country if this law passes,
Comment by pfc hernandez — 3/14/2006 @ 5:55 pm
I think that your comments show exactly how ignorant and close-minded people are because not only do we work hard to help the economy by doing all those jobs that you may think are not worth doing, but we also have to deal with your racism. You may think that you’re better just because you were born in the U.S. You may say we are ignorant and need to go back to where we came from but to tell you the truth Mexico was part of the US, so many people are exactly were they need to be. We do shout for rights, for the reason that we contribute to the economy and not only sit at home and wait for money to flow in. We are working people and we should be treated equally. You may want do some research and enlighten your mind instead of just assuming.
Comment by Dennise — 3/25/2006 @ 9:06 pm
I think that your comments show exactly how ignorant and close-minded people are because not only do we work hard to help the economy by doing all those jobs that you may think are not worth doing, but we also have to deal with your racism. You may think that you’re better just because you were born in the U.S. You may say we are ignorant and need to go back to where we came from but to tell you the truth Mexico was part of the US, so many people are exactly were they need to be. We do shout for rights, for the reason that we contribute to the economy and not only sit at home and wait for money to flow in. We are working people and we should be treated equally. You may want do some research and enlighten your mind instead of just assuming.
Comment by Dennise — 3/25/2006 @ 9:08 pm
I think that your comments show exactly how ignorant and close-minded people are because not only do we work hard to help the economy by doing all those jobs that you may think are not worth doing, but we also have to deal with your racism. You may think that you’re better just because you were born in the U.S. You may say we are ignorant and need to go back to where we came from but to tell you the truth Mexico was part of the US, so many people are exactly were they need to be. We do shout for rights, for the reason that we contribute to the economy and not only sit at home and wait for money to flow in. We are working people and we should be treated equally. You may want do some research and enlighten your mind instead of just assuming.
Comment by Dennise — 3/25/2006 @ 9:11 pm
Okay Denise let’s go point by point…
Jobs not worth doing? What the hell are you talking about? I am unaware of any such job, be more specific.
Better than you because I was born in the US? Nope, just means I’m a citizen and you’re not and no amount of whining will change that.
When exactly was Mexico part of the US?
Contribute to the economy? Well, maybe, but you also take a lot too, and the smart money seems to be on you guys taking a whole hell of a lot more than you put back in.
A good deal for you, not so much for average Americans.
I read voluminously on this subject among many others. I would actually recommend you try reading something other than the “Voz de Atzlan” site.
Comment by freedomfolks — 3/26/2006 @ 8:58 pm