Redstate

By California Yankee Posted in Immigration — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Supporters of illegal aliens marched in several U.S. cities on Labor Day in far smaller numbers than they did this spring:

Crowd estimates for Labor Day rallies in cities from San Francisco to suburban Chicago ranged from the hundreds to the low thousands, a far cry from the hundreds of thousands who gathered in several cities in the spring.

Read the rest.

[. . .]

In Southern California, about 400 people marched Monday, compared with the 400,000 marchers who had jammed a Los Angeles boulevard in May.

[. . .]

In Arizona, about 900 immigrant rights supporters gathered at the state Capitol in Phoenix by midday to protest the government's inaction on repairing what they called America's failed immigration system.

The Phoenix rally also drew 100 advocates for limiting immigration.

The Associated Press' numbers may not be reliable. It Associated Press reported about 500 people marched to Dallas City Hall asking Congress to legalize millions of illegal aliens and their families, but the Star-Telegram put the number at about 200 people.

The massive spring rallies supporting rights for illegal aliens also failed to produce a surge of new Hispanic voters. An Associated Press review of voter registration figures from Chicago, Denver, Houston, Atlanta and other major urban areas that had large rallies found no sign of a new voter boom that could sway elections:

"I was anticipating a huge jump in registration. I didn't see it," said Jess Cervantes, a veteran California political operative whose company analyzes Hispanic voting trends.

[. . .]

The AP reviewed new registration numbers over several years in metropolitan areas that include Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Dallas and Houston; Chicago; Atlanta; Denver; and Jacksonville and St. Petersburg, Fla. The time frames included January-through-July periods dating to 2004 and periods before statewide elections, when registration efforts are most intense.

According to the Associated Press, new registrations were up this year compared to last year, but they were well below the numbers in 2004.

Those advocating rights for illegal aliens overplayed their hand with the massive spring rallies. Efforts to gain political advantage by turning those protesting in support of rights for illegal aliens into Democratic voters is at best unseemly.

As President Bush says, America is a welcoming society. We are indeed a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. If you are here legally, you are more than welcome and greatly appreciated. If you are here illegally, please go back to your nation of origin and come back legally and play by the rules.