Last week, the anti-immigrant groups that protested the presence of undocumented immigrants in Long Island, NY were surprised to find that more people had showed up to support local immigrants than to demonstrate against them.
One of the two protests was held at a meeting point for Latino day workers in Farmingville in support of the Minutemen organization, which demands the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
The anti-immigrant protestors held signs saying, “Stop the Invasion” and “The Government is Selling Out.”
Ray Wysolmierski, president of the Greater Farmingville Community Association, said that the group was simply defending the country.
Latino organizations, however, brought more people to the protest than the Minutemen.
“It’s important to counter-attack,” said Luis Valenzuela, president of the National Association of Hispanic and Puerto Rican Social Workers.
A similar demonstration took place near Freeport, and the support for the day workers was also larger than the presence of the Minutemen. Several groups organized protests in more than a dozen states to protest illegal immigration and lack of border security, while at the same time demanding that the government punish businesses that hire undocumented workers.
The protests were organized in 19 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and California, under the slogan, “Stop the Invasion.” However, in several cities only a handful of people participated, and defenders of immigrant rights crowded the streets surrounding the protests.
In Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, some 100 people confronted a little over two dozen protestors, yelling, “Racists, go home!” The two groups insulted each other for more than an hour, but there was no violence or arrests, according to the local police.
Paul Streitz, who organized the protests, said that the participants believe that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans and are causing real estate and property values to drop.
“This is not a matter of racism,” said Daniel Anastasia, a worker from New York. “We pay taxes, and they don’t.”
This argument doesn’t convince others.
“What they are doing is harassing people who are here to go out and work every day,” said Manuel Olivera, a pastor from Farmingville, New York, where several undocumented workers have been beaten up, and at least one immigrant’s house set on fire.
“Close the borders,” demanded Bill Pearson, a protestor in Farmingville. “Close the businesses that are hiring these people.”
