KPLU Local News
(2010-05-20)
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Participants in an immigration reform protest take over the lobby of the 1000 Second Avenue Building in downtown Seattle, May 20, 2010. There were no arrests.
Gary Davis/KPLU photo.
By late morning the crowd in front of the Jackson Federal Building had swelled - one hundred, two hundred, then three hundred gathered. Seattle labor activist Pedro Olguin said it was time to stand up for families and workers who live in fear of arrest and deportation.
Pedro Olguin: "We are here today to demand immigration reform to tell President Obama and Congress that they must lead and lead with courage."
They marched across the street - with chant and song - to the lobby of a skyscraper at Second Avenue and Madison Street. The office building houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There they took over the lobby for more than an hour. Seattle Police stayed clear.
Immigration Reform Protesters Take Over Lobby of 1000 Second Avenue Building, Seattle.
Hundreds cheered the demonstrators willing to face handcuffs. One of them was a Seattle high school student, Magalia Reyes. She says families in the long wait for citizenship face unfair hurdles.
Magalia Reyes: "When it comes to having to pay for college, if you're an immigrant, you have to pay more."
The protest then moved outside, into the streets, blocking traffic and inviting arrest in view of police on motorcycles. Still, there were no arrests, no confrontations. Police redirected traffic and kept a safe perimeter for the rally as it moved through downtown. King County Councilman Larry Gossett was one of the demonstrators willing to be arrested.
Larry Gossett: "The fact that we didn't get arrested is not the most important point. The fact that we were unified, together; the message about why we were out in the streets in Seattle today, is getting out, that's a victory."
Gossett says it's urgent that immigrants are given a clear path to citizenship and families are not broken apart as they go through the process. Protests in other cities have resulted in arrests. Leaders of One America, the Seattle group that organized the rally, say this is the beginning of stepped up demonstrations to raise awareness of an issue they call a moral crisis. Gary Davis, KPLU News, in downtown Seattle.
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