Tampa, FL – On April 18, immigrant rights activists, community members and students demanded that the city of Tampa allow drivers licenses for undocumented people. In the morning, activists with Dream Defenders marched into city hall demanding that the city council pass a resolution in favor of the state of Florida passing a law granting licenses for the undocumented. The Tampa City Council attempted to shut down speakers for demanding licenses for all. After the council meeting, the activists left with council members inviting them to meet again on a personal basis.

Miami, FL – Over 2000 people marched here, April 6, demanding legalization for undocumented workers and calling for an end to the deportations of immigrants. Young and old, undocumented and documented, workers and students came together in order to push local and national policy makers, including President Obama, into immediate action.

Fight Back! interviewed veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes on the fight to win legalization for undocumented immigrants. Montes is a longtime fighter in the struggle for immigrant rights. Fight Back!: Why is the struggle for legalization for the undocumented so important right now?

Tampa, FL – Activists came together here, March 29, to announce a campaign under the demand “Licenses for All” undocumented people in Florida. Members of Dream Defenders, Hondurenos Unidos en Tampa, Mexican American Student Association (MASA), and Latin American Student Association (LASA) at the University of South Florida will be pushing the Tampa City Council to allow drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. The number of undocumented immigrants in Florida is estimated to be 1 million people. Many of the undocumented end up being deported after being pulled over from driving without a license.

Riverside, CA – On March 16, over 300 people, mostly Chicanos and Latinos, came to the University of California-Riverside for the Alliance for Immigration Reform National Leadership Summit. A similar conference was held in Feb. 2006 at the Riverside Convention Center, which made the original call for mass marches against the criminalization of immigrants on March 10 and 25 of 2006.

We need legalization for all starting now!

San José, CA – On Monday, January 28, a bipartisan group of eight Senators, four Democrats and four Republicans, announced a framework for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” or CIR. On Jan. 29, President Obama will be putting out his position, marking the beginning of an effort to “reform” U.S. immigration law this year.