Protests in America

A strike by illegal migrants is planned across America for May 1st, as many protest against moves to criminalise the activities of foreign workers. Some demonstrators are promising to “close” major American cities, notably Los Angeles. The anger on the streets is matched by disputes between the House and the Senate over rival immigration bills.

AMERICA does not celebrate Labour Day on May 1st, unlike much of the world. But millions prepared to take the day off anyway. A nationwide strike is planned by millions of immigrants, mostly Latinos, to protest against moves to crack down on illegal immigration. Workers will walk out of jobs and schoolchildren will leave schools to express their frustrations and fears about a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment, most prominently that expressed in a punitive bill from the House of Representatives. Protest leaders say they expect as many as 3m people to take to the streets in Los Angeles alone, following large previous protests there. They aim to “close” several major American cities to prove the important economic role that immigrants play.

The debate has been building for months. Late last year the Republican-controlled House passed a harsh bill that would brand illegal immigrants as felons, criminalise any activity (including providing medical care) that would aid them, and extend a wall along stretches of the border with Mexico. That bill set off a first wave of protests, which have included not only immigrants but many of their supporters, notably church leaders.

Perhaps responding to the House, senators have considered a strikingly different immigration bill. Lawmakers as different as John McCain, a Republican maverick, and Ted Kennedy, a Democratic stalwart, support the Senate bill. It would create a guest-worker programme, and offer a long-term path to citizenship for many of the 11m-plus illegal immigrants in the country (provided they pay back taxes and fines and learn English). But partisan manoeuvring by Republicans and Democrats stalled passage of the measure in the full Senate. John Boehner, the new leader of the Republicans in the House, says that he opposes the Senate version, setting up a struggle between the two chambers.

George Bush has been caught in the middle. Much of his Republican base is hostile to illegal immigration. But the former governor of Texas, who speaks some Spanish, is on friendly terms with Mexico’s president and has two Hispanic cabinet members. He wants a guest-worker programme and has made supportive noises about the Senate bill. He and Karl Rove, his top political adviser, hope to woo Hispanics in mid-term elections later this year by appealing to their Catholic-influenced social conservatism. Hispanics are now the largest minority in the country, and their number and influence are growing.

However, many in Mr Bush’s traditional base—whites in the south, midwest and west—are baffled and angry that he would take a position that alienates so many of them, given his political difficulties in other areas at the moment. That base is preparing in advance to be infuriated by Monday’s protests. A member of the “Minutemen”, an unofficial group that patrols the border, told Reuters news agency that millions marching under the Mexican flag was “intimidation”.

But the protestors are savvier than that. Many will march under America’s own Stars and Stripes, with signs reminding Americans that “we are all immigrants”. They proudly display pictures of Latinos serving in America’s military. Others note that migrants are not terrorists. The aim of the work stoppage, they say, is to show how much they give to the country with their labour.

While Mr Bush is more popular among Latinos than his Republican predecessors, that may not last. The party’s hostility to immigrants is off-putting. Nor is the government showing any sign of going easy on migrants. On April 20th the Department of Homeland Security raided a pallet-making company and rounded up over 1,100 illegal immigrant workers, in what looked like a warning. The raids took place in 40 factories across 26 different states. Latino news media gave the story especially prominent coverage; a Spanish-language tabloid carried the threatening headline “The Migra Counterattacks”, using the slang name for the immigration enforcers. The feeling of being under siege is galvanising Hispanics to be interested in politics in ways that they have never shown before.

On at least one thing, many Americans of both parties agree: the border is a mess. Fear of terrorism amplifies the concern that the authorities simply cannot control who enters the country. Whatever bill eventually emerges from the House-Senate conference committee would certainly include more money for border guards. It would probably also see the creation of immigration courts to speed up the processing of those who cross illegally.

But beyond that, America is painfully divided ahead of the congressional elections. Republicans fear losses, due to Mr Bush’s abysmal approval ratings, the war in Iraq and several large-scale corruption scandals. The temptation to change the subject and beat on the anti-immigrant drum may be hard to resist. But Monday’s protest intends to show that migrants can make noise and bang drums of their own.