Not completely united

Some Hispanics say protesters not speaking for them

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 29, 2006 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

More stories »

Janet Dawson wore a "Proud to be an American" T-shirt, waved two small American flags, and rallied Thursday downtown with hundreds of others who oppose illegal immigration.

Dawson, though, stood out.

A native of Mexico City, the former Janet Garcia met her husband in college in California and became a U.S. citizen in 1999.

The 35-year-old Littleton woman said the wave of protests demanding legalization for illegal immigrants - and Monday's scheduled march and rally - have made her angry.

"America has done so much for me, and for those people to come here and abuse the country, it's just incomprehensible," said Dawson in a thick Spanish accent.

Recent national polls show that the majority of Hispanics who are legal residents or longtime U.S. citizens support the amnesty movement.

But the consensus is not overwhelming, as Dawson illustrates.

A third of Hispanics in a recent Pew Hispanic Center poll said illegal immigrants should not be eligible for services from state and local governments.

Exit polls indicate that more than a third of Hispanic voters in Arizona voted in favor of a 2004 measure that denies some services to illegal immigrants.

And a group of Hispanics, including former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Pete Nunez, calling themselves "You Don't Speak for Me," will discuss their opposition to amnesty Monday in Washington, D.C., to counter the planned rally.

Dawson, meanwhile, says there are more Hispanics who want tougher enforcement but keep their opinions to themselves.

"They are afraid to come out because of pressure, because they are called racists," she said.

Hispanics - and especially Mexican immigrants - have dominated the recent marches and demonstrations favoring legalization for illegal immigrants.

The prominent display of Mexican and other Latin American flags during those events has stirred intense controversy. They also have fueled a false assumption that the entire community supports the protests.

There traditionally has been tension in the Hispanic community about the immigration issue, said Butch Montoya, leader of Confianza, a coalition of Hispanic clergy, and Denver's former public safety manager.

"The Latino community is not this monolithic community that all think alike," he said.

"That's what democracy is all about," said Montoya, who supports the movement for amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Of the Hispanic opponents, he says: "If these people are unwilling to take to the street to demonstrate their position, then they have no reason to criticize those that do."

One Hispanic willing to take a stand is Waldo Benavidez, a leader of the proposed ballot initiative in Colorado that would deny most government services to illegal immigrants.

He said Hispanics "are not the kind of people that would take on an issue like this publicly."

"I'm one of the exceptions."

Benavidez, whose Spanish ancestors came to the United States about 250 years ago, said Hispanics don't want to publicly voice their opposition to the pro-immigrant campaigns because they fear being criticized for "going against your own."

"But they will sign a petition and they will discuss it among themselves," he said.

Pat Archuletta, a Safeway supermarket floral manager from Denver, attended the Denver ballot initiative rally with her mother, Anita Hernandez, and her sister, Kathy Garcia, and volunteered to gather signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

"I want the borders closed up," said Archuletta, who's part of three generations of U.S. citizens.

Archuletta, whose two brothers fought in the Vietnam War and whose father served in WWII in the Pacific, said she is angry about the waving of Mexican flags at the pro-immigrant rallies.

"They don't have a right to do that," she said. "This is not Mexico. They're treating our flag like it's nothing."

Perry Vasquez, chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado, said the 50-60 active members of his group believe that the borders must be better secured and that guest worker provisions should be increased. But they differ on how to treat the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

He said he expects some of his members to attend the May 1 march to the state Capitol.

Vasquez said his group's top priorities are education and economic development.

But they've been forced into taking on the immigration issue. "We didn't pick it up as a cause," he said.

Dawson has been working on the cause to curb illegal immigration since living in California. On Thursday, she signed up to volunteer for the ballot measure that prohibits them from getting government services. This is her way of helping her country, Dawson said. "I really strive to become a good citizen."

Rally schedule

Organizers are calling it "We are America/Somos America," a national day of action scheduled Monday to demonstrate the impact of immigrants. In Denver, the march, rally and economic boycott could attract 50,000 or more. Police urge commuters and motorists to avoid the march route and area around the state Capitol Monday morning and early afternoon. Roads will be closed to accommodate the protesters.

Here's a list of immigration-related events:

Sunday

• 2 p.m., Fort Collins: Pro-immigrant activists and student groups will hold a march and rally from the Colorado State University oval, along College Avenue, to Old Town. A group called Northern Coloradans for Immigration Reduction will hold a simultaneous counter- rally at the corner of Mulberry and College avenues.

• 1 to 2:30 p.m., Denver: Volunteers for the state group Defend Colorado Now will be stationed in the courtyard of 1410 Grant St., east of the state Capitol, so that registered voters can sign petitions for a ballot measure that would deny most government services to illegal immigrants.

Monday:

• 9 a.m., Denver: Marchers will meet at Viking Park, 29th Avenue and Speer Boulevard, and step off at 10:30 down Speer Boulevard, east on Market, south on 19th Avenue and Broadway to the Capitol.

• Approximately noon, Denver: Rally with speeches at the Capitol.

• 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Denver: Anti-illegal-immigrant rally at Civic Center Park.

• Noon, Boulder: Pro- immigrant rally at Broadway and Canyon.

• 9 to 11 a.m., Lafayette: Pro-immigrant rally at Lamont Does Park.

• 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Colorado Springs: Pro-immigrant rally at Memorial Park.

• 4 to 7 p.m., Pueblo: Pro-immigrant rally at Bessemer Park.

• 7 p.m., Aurora: Prayer service in support of immigrant rights at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 13120 E. Kentucky Ave.

• 7 p.m., Denver: Prayer service on immigration issues by Hispanic clergy group Confianza and its subsidiary, Alianza Ministerial de Denver, at Civic Center Park.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News