Democracy Uprising
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      The Fed Could Help Cash-Strapped Cities and States….

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      In the Pandemic, Should We Tax the Rich?

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Mass Protests May Fade, But Movements Persist

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      There’s More Than One Way to Strike the…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      In Praise of Impractical Movements

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Naming Our Desire: How Do We Talk About…

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      No More Miss America: A Collective Memory of…

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      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (in…

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      Als Martin Luther King seine Feuerwaffen aufgab

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      Mikrokredite: Die Entlassung eines Nobelpreisträgers

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      Si Las Monjas Se Fueran a una Huelga,…

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      ALEC retrocede; a la derecha le da un…

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      La révolution non-violente a-t-elle échoué en Egypte?

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Democracy Uprising

  • About
    • About Mark Engler
    • About Democracy Uprising
  • Books
    • This Is An Uprising
    • How To Rule the World
  • Topics
    • All Book Reviews Environment Essays / First Person Global Economy Immigration Labor Latin America Social Movements Religion U.S. Politics / Elections War / Militarism
      U.S. Politics / Elections

      The Fed Could Help Cash-Strapped Cities and States….

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      In the Pandemic, Should We Tax the Rich?

      Social Movements

      Mass Protests May Fade, But Movements Persist

      Book Reviews

      The Pan American

      Labor

      There’s More Than One Way to Strike the…

      Social Movements

      In Praise of Impractical Movements

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Naming Our Desire: How Do We Talk About…

      Social Movements

      Latest Book: This Is An Uprising!

      Book Reviews

      The Pan American

      Book Reviews

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Book Reviews

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Book Reviews

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

      Book Reviews

      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

      Book Reviews

      Ordinary Outrages

      Book Reviews

      No Better Place

      Book Reviews

      In God’s Country

      Environment

      Why Wendell Matters

      Environment

      The Gulf at the Gas Station

      Environment

      Climate Disobedience

      Environment

      Farming the Everglades

      Environment

      The Winter of the Climate Denier

      Environment

      Climate of Change: An “Inside-Outside” Strategy Against Global…

      Environment

      Provoking an American Climate Crisis

      Environment

      The Real “Farmer” Story: So God Made High-Fructose…

      Essays / First Person

      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

      Essays / First Person

      On the Price is Right

      Essays / First Person

      The Last Porto Alegre

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      Six Essays About War and About Peace

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      Republicans Among Us

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      New York Says “No”

      Essays / First Person

      The Sideshow Rebels

      Essays / First Person

      A Week in New York

      Global Economy

      Meet the Bailout’s New Slush Fund for Corporate…

      Global Economy

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Global Economy

      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

      Global Economy

      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Global Economy

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Global Economy

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Global Economy

      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Global Economy

      The World Is Not Flat

      Immigration

      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

      Immigration

      The Children of Intervention

      Immigration

      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Immigration

      Science Fiction From Below

      Immigration

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

      Immigration

      Treated Like a Criminal

      Immigration

      When Sanctuary is Resistance

      Immigration

      The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are…

      Labor

      There’s More Than One Way to Strike the…

      Labor

      The Case for a Social Distancing Wage

      Labor

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Labor

      Reviving the General Strike

      Labor

      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

      Labor

      There’s Still Power in a Strike

      Labor

      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Labor

      Ai-jen Poo: Organizing a Movement for Care

      Latin America

      The Pan American

      Latin America

      Lessons from the Pledge of Resistance

      Latin America

      The Children of Intervention

      Latin America

      Against Shithole Nationalism

      Latin America

      The Last Porto Alegre

      Latin America

      Kissinger Is Not Our Friend

      Latin America

      Even If You Have Nothing to Hide

      Latin America

      End Illegal Spying; Don’t Shoot the Whistleblower

      Social Movements

      Mass Protests May Fade, But Movements Persist

      Social Movements

      There’s More Than One Way to Strike the…

      Social Movements

      In Praise of Impractical Movements

      Social Movements

      Latest Book: This Is An Uprising!

      Social Movements

      It’s Time We Celebrate Ella Baker Day

      Social Movements

      No More Miss America: A Collective Memory of…

      Social Movements

      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

      Social Movements

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Religion

      In God’s Country

      Religion

      Reverend Billy’s Holiday Shopocalypse

      Religion

      Toward the “Rights of the Poor”

      Religion

      The Pope and the Poor

      Religion

      Will the Next Pope Embrace Liberation Theology?

      Religion

      Remembering Romero

      Religion

      John Paul II’s Economic Ethics

      Religion

      Against the God of Free Trade

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      The Fed Could Help Cash-Strapped Cities and States….

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      In the Pandemic, Should We Tax the Rich?

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Mass Protests May Fade, But Movements Persist

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      There’s More Than One Way to Strike the…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      In Praise of Impractical Movements

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      Naming Our Desire: How Do We Talk About…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      No More Miss America: A Collective Memory of…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

      War / Militarism

      Does It Make Sense to Protest a President…

      War / Militarism

      Lessons from the Pledge of Resistance

      War / Militarism

      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

      War / Militarism

      War: The Wrong Jobs Program

      War / Militarism

      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

      War / Militarism

      Those Who Don’t Count

      War / Militarism

      Six Essays About War and About Peace

      War / Militarism

      The Dangerous Dignity of War

  • Translations
    • All Arabic Deutsch Español Français Italiano Japanese Português Thai
      Japanese

      ガンジーはどのように勝利したのか? (Japanese)

      Français

      La révolution non-violente a-t-elle échoué en Egypte?

      Deutsch

      Als Martin Luther King seine Feuerwaffen aufgab

      Deutsch

      Mikrokredite: Die Entlassung eines Nobelpreisträgers

      Italiano

      La strategia di Gandhi per il successo –…

      Español

      ¿Adoptará el nuevo papa la teología de la…

      Español

      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

      Español

      Si Las Monjas Se Fueran a una Huelga,…

      Arabic

      Abandoning the World Bank (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Return of Daniel Ortega (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Where’s The Jubilee? (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Last Porto Alegre (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Seattle At Five (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (in…

      Arabic

      Mexico’s Democratic Transition Still Incomplete (in Arabic)

      Deutsch

      Als Martin Luther King seine Feuerwaffen aufgab

      Deutsch

      Mikrokredite: Die Entlassung eines Nobelpreisträgers

      Deutsch

      CAFTA – am besten stillschweigend beerdigen

      Deutsch

      Bush in Mexiko

      Deutsch

      Das globale Duell in Evian

      Deutsch

      Die Rückkehr des Daniel Ortega

      Español

      ¿Adoptará el nuevo papa la teología de la…

      Español

      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

      Español

      Si Las Monjas Se Fueran a una Huelga,…

      Español

      ALEC retrocede; a la derecha le da un…

      Español

      ¿ALEC disgustado ante la pérdida de patrocinadores? Se…

      Español

      La vida en la nación prisión

      Español

      El futuro del movimiento Ocupar: solidaridad y escalada

      Español

      Matando de hambre al Tío Sam

      Français

      La révolution non-violente a-t-elle échoué en Egypte?

      Français

      Le pari risqué du populisme au Pérou

      Français

      Hong Kong Phooey

      Français

      Bush Nuit Même Aux Compagnies U.S.

      Français

      Le dynamisme du mouvement pour la paix

      Français

      La déroute de l’ALCA dans une Miami en…

      Français

      Ceux qui ne comptent pas

      Français

      La guerre en Irak : une expo des…

      Italiano

      La strategia di Gandhi per il successo –…

      Italiano

      Le promesse infrante di Obama

      Italiano

      Guantanamo deve sparire

      Italiano

      IL BANK TRANSFER DAY: UN SUCCESSO

      Italiano

      Come il movimento Occupiamo Wall Street si sta…

      Italiano

      Economia tabù

      Italiano

      L’accesso al mercato è la risposta alla povertà?

      Italiano

      Trionfo sul debito?

      Japanese

      ガンジーはどのように勝利したのか? (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Truth Versus Superpower (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Bush’s Bad Business Empire (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Revenge of the Combat Cartoonist (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Bush’s Uneasy Mexican Visita (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Mark Twain in Iraq (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Globalization’s “Lost Decade” (Japanese)

      Japanese

      Hawks Say the Damnedest Things (Japanese)

      Português

      A vida na Nação Prisão

      Português

      Outro pretexto?

      Português

      Imigração tem efeito positivo sobre emprego e salários

      Português

      O império hipotecado

      Thai

      Progressive Good Tidings of 2007 (in Thai)

      Thai

      2006: A Global Justice Year in Review (In…

      Thai

      WTO: Best Left For Dead? (In Thai)

      Thai

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (In…

      Thai

      Bush’s Bad Business Empire (In Thai)

      Thai

      The Last Porto Alegre [Thai]

      Thai

      Globalizers, Neocons, or… ? (in Thai)

    • Other Translations
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ImmigrationSocial MovementsU.S. Politics / Elections2015-2016

The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are Still Changing Politics

by Mark Engler and Paul Engler April 7, 2016
written by Mark Engler and Paul Engler April 7, 2016
The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are Still Changing Politics

Popular uprising have ramifications that go beyond immediate legislative results, and they can alter the climate of political debate.

Published in the Los Angeles Times.


Ten years ago, on March 10, 2006, more than 100,000 protesters flooded Chicago’s downtown Loop. As the Chicago Tribune reported, “Urgent chants of ‘Si, se puede,’ or ‘Yes, you can,’ echoed off the walls of downtown skyscrapers” as the largely Latino crowd formed one of the largest demonstrations for immigrant rights in United States history.

That was just the beginning. Motivated by the prospect of the U.S. Senate passing the so-called Sensenbrenner bill — which, among other provisions, would have criminalized assistance to immigrants in the country illegally who were seeking food, housing or medical services — demonstrations cropped up in more than 140 cities in 39 states. Some of the largest events took place in Southern California, culminating in a May 1, 2006, “Day Without Immigrants,” when more than 500,000 rallied in Los Angeles to demand a pathway to citizenship.

Despite these remarkable turnout figures, the importance of these demonstrations is not always acknowledged. The bill proposed by U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) did not pass the Senate, but neither did comprehensive reform, leading many commentators to deem the protests a failure. In 2011, Fortune magazine used the demonstrations as an example of how mass movements “can peter out without achieving meaningful change.”

Popular uprisings, however, have ramifications that go beyond immediate legislative results. The use of nonviolent sacrifice, disruption and escalation can alter the climate of political debate. These strategies can change an issue seen by politicians as inconvenient or untimely into a matter that can no longer be ignored. By these measures, the 2006 movement had lasting significance.

Just as civil rights activists of the 1960s invigorated racist White Citizens’ Councils in the South, one of the effects of the 2006 protests was to activate hard-line anti-immigrant sentiment. Vigilante “Minuteman” groups proliferated along the Mexican border, and conservative state legislators in places such as Arizona, Georgia and Indiana passed extreme legislation targeting immigrants in the country illegally.

Yet this is only half the story. During the demonstrations, activists chanted, “Today we march, tomorrow we vote!” True to this vow, a galvanized Latino community created an ongoing crisis for conservatives at the polls, starting with the 2006 midterms. Conservative Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer wrote: “Hispanics said ‘adiós’ to President Bush’s Republican Party… voting in much greater numbers than expected for Democratic candidates in an apparent rejection of the ruling party’s efforts to blame much of the nation’s problems on undocumented migrants.”

Savvy Republicans scrambled to contain the damage. Presidential advisor Karl Rove showed up at a national meeting of La Raza, the country’s largest Latino civil rights organization, and attempted to distance the White House from anti-immigrant sentiment. Rove would later warn his party, “An anti-Hispanic attitude is suicidal.”

Many young people who tasted political power for the first time in 2006 went on to promote the DREAM Act — an effort to provide legal status for young immigrants who were brought to the country as children. By 2010, these DREAMers recaptured the spotlight. Mirroring LGBT advocates, they broadcast “coming out” stories about their status. They also organized marches, building occupations and traffic blockades to keep their cause in the public eye.

In a decisive move in June 2012, the activists began conducting hunger strikes and sit-ins in Obama for America campaign offices. As the New York Times commented, the president suddenly faced the real prospect of “alienating the Latino voters who may be pivotal to his re-election bid.”

Just weeks later — on June 15, 2012 — President Obama directed federal immigration authorities to follow new guidelines allowing young residents who met the DREAM Act’s criteria to receive renewable work permits. The action allowed as many as 1.2 million young undocumented immigrants to live and work freely in the United States. The president subsequently undertook even further-reaching actions, creating a mechanism for more than 5 million additional immigrants, including those who are parents of U.S. citizens, to remain in the country legally.

Conservative presidential hopefuls have pledged to reverse these measures. But, as Rove warned, the ever-growing Latino voting bloc now puts conservatives in an impossible bind. If right-wing candidates appeal to the anti-immigrant extreme in an attempt to win primary contests, they enter general elections facing an energized bloc of immigrant-rights supporters — and their anti-immigrant statements increasingly fly in the face of mainstream opinion as well.

In short, disruption has paid dividends for those whose chants echoed from city buildings a decade ago. And the 2006 immigrant-rights mobilization is not the only protest movement in recent memory to have shaken up politics. Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter have animated public discussion of issues ranging from economic inequality, to labor rights, to police violence against people of color. They have already affected policy — from a “millionaire’s tax” in New York, to California’s Homeowners Bill of Rights, to the increasingly widespread mandate that officers wear body cameras — and we can expect that the ripples they send through political life will continue to expand.

Many of the last century’s major advances — from labor laws to civil rights to environmental protections — owe less to the politicians who haggled over the endgame of reform and more to the movements that put these social issues on the map, often via insistent and disruptive demonstrations. Looking back at the protests of 2006, we should recognize the dramatic display of public discontent by immigrant families and their supporters as a harbinger of changes to come.

__________

Photo credit: Jonathan McIntosh / Wikimedia Commons.

immigrant rights movementImmigrationprotest
Mark Engler and Paul Engler

Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. Paul Engler is founding director of the Center for the Working Poor, in Los Angeles. They are the authors of This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century.

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The Author

Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. His latest book, written with Paul Engler, is entitled This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century (Nation Books). Mark’s full bio is available here.

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  • The Fed Could Help Cash-Strapped Cities and States. Mnuchin Has Other Ideas.

    November 20, 2020
  • In the Pandemic, Should We Tax the Rich?

    October 30, 2020
  • Mass Protests May Fade, But Movements Persist

    July 5, 2020
  • The Pan American

    August 13, 2018
  • There’s More Than One Way to Strike the Boss

    June 27, 2018

Mark’s Articles Appear In:

  • Dissent
  • The Nation
  • The New Republic
  • N+1
  • Salon.com
  • The Los Angeles Times
  • Waging Nonviolence
  • Boston Review
  • The Atlantic
  • Rolling Stone
  • The Guardian
  • In These Times
  • TomDispatch
  • New Internationalist
  • Yes! Magazine
  • Audubon Magazine
  • Jacobin
  • Mother Jones
  • Le Monde diplomatique
  • Grist Magazine
  • Rebelión
  • The San Francisco Chronicle
  • The Progressive
  • Newsday
  • openDemocracy
  • Truthout
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Dollars & Sense
  • Progreso Semanal
  • Chicago Reader
  • Sin Permiso
  • Baltimore Sun
  • The Ecologist
  • TruthDig
  • Asia Times
  • Sierra Magazine
  • Labor Notes
  • New Politics
  • The Catholic Worker
  • The Des Moines Register
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

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