LOS ANGELES, February 3, 2006--Mother Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants, was in the house tonight when 120 people gathered in front of La Placita Church on Olvera Street to commemorate the death of Guillermo Martínez Rodríguez and the 4000, or perhaps as many as 10,000, people who have died trying to circumvent the U.S. border wall since its construction in 1994. Prior to 1994, only a dozen or so people were killed annually by the heat or cold of the desert, or by the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Caravan for Migrants was organized by Enrique Morones of Border Angels and San Diego's gente unida to bring national focus to the deaths and to stop anti-immigrant legislation. The caravanners were escorted to the church through the foggy twilight chill by Danza Cuauhtémoc. Speakers lined up at a small lectern next to the candles for the souls of the dead outside the church. After a greeting by local hosts La Placita Justicia para Immigrantes and a song and prayer by the parish priest, Dolores Huerta, legendary co-founder and vice-president emeritus of the United Farm Workers, set the tone with an impassioned plea insisting that immigrants not be blamed for U.S. social ills and international economic policy.
Full report with photos:
"Do It for the Children"
by Leslie Radford | | Photos:
Caravan To D.C.
by indio
"Do It for the Children"