Occupy LA Plans to 'Occupy ICE' at Downtown Federal Building: Immigrant Crackdowns to be Protested

Occupy LA Plans to 'Occupy ICE' at Downtown Federal Building: Immigrant Crackdowns to be Protested


Looks like there will be a little-publicized march by pro-illegal alien activist groups this morning starting at 11:30am at Olivera st and ending up in front of ICE building in DWTN LA. This is several blocks east of the original OWS camp at City Hall Plaza Park. I have closely followed the LA OWS rallies and while the OWS hard-core have up to now conducted their rallies separate fron the pro-ilegal alien activist groups, it appears from this article that an open undisguised merging of OWS and pro-illegal alien rights coalitions has occurred.

News report from LA Weekly,

'OWS L.A.'s City Hall encampment might be a thing of the past, but the occupiers continue to return to their Civic Center home for "general assembly" meetings and protests. Today, DEC 15 at 11:30am, demonstrators warn, the tents will return to the neighborhood, this time in front of the downtown federal building(ICE) that's just around the corner from Occupy's former City Hall residence. The target of their ire? Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They're calling it "Occupy ICE." And not the kind rednecks smoke, either....'

'The groups involved, including Good Jobs LA, several SEIU locals, ANSWER Coalition, CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrants Rights of Los Angeles), and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, claim in a statement that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have been "doing the dirty work of wealthy corporations by targeting hardworking immigrant families.'

'Quote from writer,
'Huh? We're a little confused. We thought the 1 percent liked their baby sitters brown and their Walmart workers browner.
We guess their point is that the heat put on the allegedly undocumented and the people who look like them results in downward wage pressure (scratches head).'

'Here's what organizers say:
"... Immigrant workers are part of the 99% ... The activists say that ICE agents are doing the work of the 1%, attacking workers like janitors who have sacrificed and struggled in efforts to turn poverty level jobs into good jobs."

'Mike Garcia, president of SEIU United Service Workers West:
"The 1% profits from fear. The fear of not being able to find a job. The fear of losing your house that you have worked hard for. And, the fear that immigrant workers feel that they may be separated from their children. But, we refuse to be afraid. We are going to fight back."

'Starting at 11:30 a.m. demonstrators will march from Olivera Street (at 845 N. Alameda St.) to the federal building at Los Angeles and Temple streets. They promise 2,000 workers will show up and that there will soon be "tents in front of the downtown federal building, which houses local ICE offices.'


[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Tags:
County Federation of Labor, downtown federal building, Good Jobs LA, immigration, Occupy ICE, Occupy LA, SEIU