Tens of thousands march for immigrant rights

Tens of thousands of immigrants and supporters marched in Chicago for immigrant rights on July 19. On a blisteringly

hot work day, the streets were full of resistance to the current attacks on immigrants. The protest was staged on a Wednesday in the middle of the day. Many marchers skipped work and school to participate.

The impressive turnout was wrongly ridiculed in the mainstream media for being smaller than the mass mobilizations in March, April and May. The July 19 demonstration in Chicago was a clear indication of immigrants’ determination to win equal rights and maintain momentum in the new movement for civil rights.

In their narrow-minded view of the world, the U.S. ruling class cares little about the welfare of immigrants or any other worker. The corporate media bosses share this opinion. All they care about is making profits and keeping immigrants in a separate, unequal caste of workers that can be used to keep all

wages and benefits low. They seek to dampen and divert the potentially immense power of the struggle of millions of immigrants for full equality in the United States.

Every community and progressive organization in Chicago mobilized for the march. The Spanish language press and many Latino-owned businesses also supported the demonstration. The ongoing immigrant rights movement is an extremely positive development for all working people.