Downtown Protests Draw More Than 1,000

Two separate rallies Saturday drew more than 1,000 people to downtown Los Angeles, clogging traffic as demonstrators decried the governor’s veto of a bill to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses.

One rally, which ended on the City Hall lawn, was planned by a coalition of immigrant rights and labor groups protesting, among other issues, Border Patrol raids in Riverside and San Bernardino counties earlier this year, said Angela Sanbrano, executive director of the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles.

These protesters also voiced opposition to the war in Iraq and the proposed closure of the trauma unit at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Willowbrook. A union contingent showed its support for Sen. John F. Kerry with signs backing the Democratic presidential nominee.

State Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), the author of the bill that would have given licenses to illegal immigrants, drew cheers when he spoke outside City Hall.

“The governor is an immigrant like we are immigrants, and because of that we insist that the governor honor his word and give us the same license he has,” he said, “the same license without a mark, the same license so we could work for our families and help California build a better future.”

In his explanation for the September veto, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Cedillo’s bill did not “adequately address the security concerns that my Department of Homeland Security and I have, and I cannot support it.” The governor’s aides had argued that the bill failed to include provisions for a special identifying mark on the license to distinguish holders as illegal immigrants.

The other downtown march focused on similar issues.

The Los Angeles Police Department deployed about 150 officers to provide traffic control because several intersections around downtown were closed, Capt. William Fierro said. “It’s been great, very peaceful,” he said.

The events drew families pushing baby strollers, people waving American and Mexican flags, activists bearing signs, and groups passing out literature with titles like “The Revolutionary Worker.”

Construction worker Felix Torres, 30, of South Los Angeles said he thought he was doing his civic duty by demonstrating.

He said he thought giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants would be good for society at large.

“Despite the fact that we’re immigrants, we’re people who work very hard in this state, and the rest of the country, to strengthen the economy of this country,” said Torres, an immigrant from El Salvador.