Anybody who looks at all these rallies has to be asking, 'What's the political impact? Some politicians are nervously wondering how many of these people voted in the past and how many will vote in the future. |
It's an entirely predictable example of the law of unintended consequences. The Republican party made a decision to use illegal immigration as the wedge issue of 2006, and the Mexican community was profoundly offended. |
Nothing like this has been seen in this country. And if it continues moving forward, it's the beginning of a massive immigrant civil-rights struggle. |
The political parties have to understand that this is something that is not going to disappear. |
The sleeping giant is awakening. |
There has never been this kind of mobilization in the immigrant community ever. They have kicked the sleeping giant. It's the beginning of a massive immigrant civil rights struggle. |
They wanted to use this as a wedge issue, perhaps for their presidential campaigns. |
This is a justice issue: You can't have 11 million people being vulnerable and exploited. |
This is a justice issue. You can't have 11 million vulnerable people being exploited and not have that addressed eventually. |
We are a dream of inclusion, of education. |
We don't have a leader like Martin Luther King or Cesar Chavez, but this is now a national immigrant rights movement. |