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Old 10-13-2011, 02:47 PM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default Alabama Latinos Stage Work Stoppage to Protest Immigration Law

Alabama Latinos Stage Work Stoppage to Protest Immigration Law
Numerous Latinos in Alabama skipped work or closed shops Wednesday in a show of protest against the state's new immigration law, the harshest in the nation.
The work stoppage was aimed at demonstrating the economic contribution of Alabama's Latino immigrants. It was unclear exactly how widespread the protests were, but a poultry company spokesman said officials were reporting unusually high absences at plants in northeast Alabama, where much of the state's chicken industry is based.
In the northeast Alabama town of Albertville, numerous Hispanic-owned businesses along Main Street had the lights off and signs that said they wouldn't be open. Mexican restaurants, a bank that caters to Hispanics, small grocery stores and supermarkets were all shuttered.
José Contreras owns a restaurant and store on Main Street. He said he was losing about $2,500 in revenue by shutting down.
"We closed because we need to open the eyes of the people who are operating this state," said Contreras, originally from the Dominican Republic and a U.S. citizen. "It's an example of if the law pushes too much, what will happen."
Republican supporters say Alabama's strict new immigration law was intended to force undocumented workers out of jobs and help legal residents find work in a state suffering from high unemployment.
The law allows police to detain people indefinitely if they are suspected of being in the country illegally and requires schools to check the status of new students when they enroll.
Since a federal judge upheld much of the law two weeks ago, many frightened Hispanics have hid in their homes or fled Alabama. Schools have reported high absentee rates among Hispanic students, and officials said even more students were absent Wednesday, apparently because of the protest.
At Crossville Elementary School in DeKalb County, Principal Ed Burke said about 160 of the school's 600 students weren't in class.
"We normally would have about 20 or 30 out," he said.
The Obama administration is among the critics of the new law and asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to at least temporarily block enforcement, arguing in court documents the statute oversteps the state's authority. It's not clear when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule on the administration's request for a preliminary injunction.
Not far from Contreras' businesses, the parking lot was virtually empty at a Wayne Farms poultry plant that employs about 850 people. Company spokesman Frank Singleton said other plants were also reporting unusually high absences.
"We know it's related to the immigration law. I don't think it's going to be just today," he said.
The protests were being promoted partly through Facebook and other social media, as well as a Spanish-language radio station in Birmingham. Supporters say they want to show the economic impact of Hispanic people in Alabama and demonstrate solidarity in opposition to the law.
There are an estimated 185,000 Hispanics in Alabama. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that 70 percent of the state's Hispanic residents are Mexican.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/new...#ixzz1ahfaYed0




Alabama Latinos Return to Work after Immigration Protest
Cash registers rang again and classrooms were back to normal in Alabama as Latino children and adults returned to work and school a day after staying away to protest the state’s immigration law.
Customers trickled into Hispanic-owned stores and restaurants Thursday, and the parking lot was full at a poultry plant in Albertville that closed Wednesday because of a lack of workers.
Latino immigrants, most of them of Mexican origin, are upset with the tough new law. Some have even fled the state since a judge upheld it a couple of weeks ago.
Officials say a one-day protest will have had little economic impact on the state.
Despite the return of protesters, however, things are not quite the way they were before the law took effect last month.
Many Latinos have left the state, leaving many businesses understaffed. And the number of students in schools in some parts of the state is considerably down, according to education officials.
To remedy the labor void, Gov. Robert Bentley is planning the creation of "Work Alabama," an initiative by the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations that matches temporary jobs with people looking for temporary work.
The department has streamlined the temporary job identification and application processes and is devoting additional resources to help employers deal with federal regulations to hire additional workers to meet workforce needs.
Some employers report that even workers who are in the country legally – indeed, including people who were born in the United States – have left the state because, as Latinos, they feel stigmatized by the new law, which allows police to check the immigration status of people they feel are in the country illegally.
The law also requires school officials to check the immigration status of children at the time of enrollment, as well as the status of their parents. No child, however, will be denied enrollment, state officials say, which is a right everyone has in regard to a public school education through senior year of high school.
Meanwhile, officials with the Tuscaloosa City School System held a meeting Wednesday to inform Hispanic parents of how Alabama's new immigration law would affect their families. The meeting brought more than 400 people to Northington Elementary School, according to a report by CBS 42.
Tuscaloosa City Superintendent Paul McKendrick told the crowd through an interpreter that children already enrolled in school would not be affected by the law. He also explained to parents that teachers would report numbers of undocumented children, but would not report names.
School officials said at least 28 Hispanic students have withdrawn from city schools.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson also appeared at the meeting and discussed his department's enforcement of the law with attendees, who expressed concerns about traffic stops and road blocks near largely Hispanic neighborhoods. Anderson, acknowledging that there were many questions about the law and its enforcement, gave out his office phone number to the gathering.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/pol...#ixzz1ahhV2AaI
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Old 10-14-2011, 05:54 PM
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Their protest sure didn't last long.
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Old 10-15-2011, 05:42 AM
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ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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I believe the May Day "Hispanic Labor Day", a "Day without a 'Mexican'" walkout a few years ago in California had a huge back lash.

I don't believe I've heard of even idle chatter to repeat that one.
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