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Phoenix, Arizona – Another march aimed to condemn Maricopa sheriff’s crackdown on immigrants without documents
summoned Saturday thousands of people from Arizona and other states in the nation.
The demonstration was also intended to pressure the Obama Administration to stop enforcement’s policies and pass an
immigration reform this year.
Thousands of immigrant workers and their families marched the 3-mile route from Falcon Park to the county jail complex.
Except for a brief incident between Phoenix Police Department and a regular group of young demonstrators with a more
radical approach, the march was orderly and festive.
The massive demonstration, planned for several months, brought to Arizona long-time Chicana activist Dolores Huerta,
legendary singers Linda Ronstadt and Little Joe, and rapper-activist Zack de la Rocha, who led the march just behind a
group of dancers from the local indigenous group Tonatierra.
The real “celebrities” of Saturday’s demonstration, though, were the thousands and thousands of men, women and
children who walked enthusiastically and tirelessly in hopes that their participation somehow persuades Washington to
pass legislation to allow them to obtain legal status.
“We are marching for the rights of the (immigrant) community,” said Veronica Cortés, a young mother who was among the
many marchers and was accompanied by her husband and children. “Bringing along our children is a way of raising
awareness in them about our people’s struggle; even though they had the privilege of having been born here, they don’t
know what their parents went through to arrive to this land.”
The colorful demonstration, called Human Rights March, was the first of 2010 and the second one in less than a year to
target the jail complex in southwest Phoenix. Last year several marches and protests took place. However, they failed to
thwart the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) from continuing its roundups and arresting undocumented immigrants.
Unlike the previous demonstration, today there were no groups or individuals to counter-protest. A few sheriff deputies
were spotted observing the crowd passing by, some taking photographs from a building’s top roof, as an MCSO helicopter
flew over the complex persistently. Sheriff Arpaio was not seen anywhere around when the demonstrators arrived but had
given a press conference earlier.
The Phoenix Police Department provided the security for the march, but also had a strong presence of officers wearing
anti-riot gear. Since the march was completely non-violent and well-behaved, the cops limited to observe the thousands of
people walking and chanting.
However, this police force entered into action when a group of young people holding black flags, dressed also in black
and with their faces semi-covered with bandanas, allegedly did something that appeared to threaten police officers on
horses. This group of men and women had attended most of the pro-immigrant demonstrations last year, where they
have been vocal against law enforcement agencies and taunt police.
They first showed up at the marches when Zack de la Rocha was invited last year to attend a February 28 protest. Since
then, they have been a regular fixture. Barriozona identified this tendency first in its coverage of that march, and did a short
video interview with some of the members of this group.
Most recently, members of this group where seen at a protest against sheriff Arpaio’s visit to Cronkite School of
Journalism on November 30 last year. The group’s approach appears to be directed toward police abuse and authorities,
which explains their participation in anti-Arpaio protests, but they don’t seem to be in direct support or opposition of the pro-
immigration agenda.
De la Rocha songs lyrics in English usually attract, not immigrants or Spanish-speaking families, but counterculture and
radical groups. Since he has been invited as a speaker by the organizers, the group’s participation cannot be detached
from the march or dismissed as not being part of the demonstration, as they are likely attracted by De la Rocha, who’s
also becoming a regular fixture in protests in Maricopa County.
In September 2008, De la Rocha led a protest in Minnesota where police dispersed demonstrators with tear gas.
According to reports, Police prevented the musician from performing, thus making his fans angry.
In regards of what happened, different versions contradict police accounts, one indicating that officers pepper-sprayed in
overreaction of what they perceived as an attack, real or not. Afterward, several young men lay on the sidewalk as they
were experiencing the effects of the spray on their faces. Five were reported arrested.
Except from verbal confrontations from this group to the anti-riot squad, the aftermath went with no other altercations. The
incident diverted much of the attention of the march for a while, and created an unwanted scene in an event where the
majority of participants attended to protest Arpaio’s enforcement of immigration laws and to send a message to the White
House in regards to a reform.
In spite of this incident, the immigrant families who showed up in great numbers were absolutely peaceful. Other than
sporadic verbal and written profanities against the sheriff, the march was nonviolent and looked more like a parade or
festival.
The characteristic anti-sheriff paraphernalia that has created a culture of protest against Arpaio with signs, t-shirts,
artwork, masks resembling his likeness and other stuff was seen everywhere.
At the end of the march, many of the participants returned to the departing point walking the three-mile route. Others were
able to hop in the back of pick-up trucks and some had still the energy to be chanting and yelling as the drivers who were
giving them a ride were honking loudly.
Undocumented immigrant advocates in Arizona and the nation are faced with another year of struggle to continue
pressing Obama to fulfill his campaign promise of signing legislation that would give legal residency to the estimated 12
million people who live, work and consume in the United States.
Accordingly, a great number of protestors were holding signs in Spanish asking: “Obama: Where is the Reform.”
Copyright © 2010 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
www.barriozona.com
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The largely non-violent and festive march was clouded by an incident where a radical contingent was
pepper-sprayed by anti-riot police.
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
January 16, 2010
Thousands of Immigrant Families March to Protest
Arpaio and Remind Obama his Promise of Reform