Around the country, organizers and leaders of the immigrant rights movement are discussing and making plans for another round of May 1 protests. Last year millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets on International Workers Day. This powerful upsurge, which extended for many months, defeated legislation that would have further criminalized undocumented workers in the United States.

On Feb. 3 an important national conference took place in Los Angeles to lay plans for this spring’s protests. A call from the conference organizers stated, “On May Day 2006 history was made. The world watched as millions marched and boycotted the economy.” The statement also noted, “Students walked out, businesses closed and the people refused to buy. In Mexico, Central America and many other countries U.S. corporations were targeted by millions of workers. It was truly a Day without Immigrants.” The call concluded by urging an effort to, “Make May Day another truly historical day.”

Among the organizations backing the Los Angeles conference were the March 25th Coalition LA , May 1st Coalition- New York, Centro Sin Fronteras, BAYAN National, Southwest Workers Union-San Antonio and many others.

Carlos Montes of Los Angeles, a long-time leader in the Chicano community states, “The masses of people are the makers of history. On May Day we will take to streets to press for full equality and to end discrimination.”

This spring will be an important period for the immigrant rights movement. In his state of the union address, Bush made it clear that immigration was on the agenda and stated his opposition to amnesty for the undocumented. There are many in Congress that would like to see a ‘guest worker program that would serve big business by allowing for the exploitation of immigrant labor while denying immigrant workers their rights. It is vital to press the demand for legalization and full equality on May 1.

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