Thousands defy heat, walk winding route to protest SB 1070 in Phoenix

Featured, Immigration — By Eduardo Barraza on June 3, 2010 at 08:24

Thousands of people marched from Steele Indian School Park to the State Capitol. The march took place exactly two months before SB 1070 in implemented, and more actions against it are expected in the next 60 days. Marches and protests in Arizona have been the rule rather than the exception. In 2006, large demonstrations in Arizona and around the country began trying to persuade federal government to pass legislation that would give millions of undocumented people living in the United States a path for legalization.

A national coalition of civil organizations among others has sued Arizona over the passage of the new law. It is expected that the federal government also challenge the law in the next days or weeks. With this march, organizers intend to maintain the pressure on President Barack Obama to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Both opponents and supporters of a reform feel the federal government has failed to act timely, giving place to the current tense social atmosphere over undocumented immigration in Arizona and elsewhere in the country.

Photo: Eduardo Barraza

Tags: Barack Obama, Immigration, Immigration Reform, latinos, Politics, SB 1070

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Author: Eduardo Barraza (16 Articles)

He is a multimedia journalist with over two decades of experience. When he began his career, he specialized in photojournalism working for various newspapers and magazines. Later, he established an international journalistic service that provided stories and photographs to publications in Mexico and the United States. Seeking to take his experience to a deeper level, Barraza founded the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in 1998, which has evolved since then into a grassroots multimedia publishing agency, focusing on social issues affecting Latinos and other minorities. In 2002, he founded Barriozona Magazine, a bilingual print publication that in 2006 developed into an E-zine to reach a greater audience. Barraza is also the author of the book titled “The Shoes of the Immigrant and Other Writings”. As journalism continues to progress and is reinventing itself, Barraza has tapped into the use of digital resources to reinforce the power of a press that presents the voice of the people as opposed to “being the voice” of the people. As he sees new challenges arise for journalism, Barraza strives to uphold the true tenants of his beloved profession, among them truth, objectivity, and independence.