Azita M. Mojarad Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

At 1:00 PM, Dan pulled up to his restaurant, as he had done for the past six years.  As he stepped out of his car, he realized the parking lot was vacant; that the normally bustling restaurant was dimly lit and the buoyant lunchtime crowd was nonexistent.  Dan’s sense of bewilderment was shared by a young couple who disbelievingly stared through the translucent windows; perplexed that their favorite lunchtime spot was empty on a Monday. Dan approached the couple and greeted them by first names.  They responded by asking him what was going.  Equally confused he ushered them in as he unlocked the doors to the restaurant.  Turning on the lights, he yelled the manager Raul’s name.  His desperate calls echoed through the deserted restaurant. 

On May 1, 2006, restaurants, factories and a host of businesses grappled to come to terms with why a majority of their work forced had failed to show up to work.  Dubbed A Day Without Immigrants, on May 1, 2006, Americans witnessed millions of immigrants (documented and undocumented), as well as natural born Americans boycotting their jobs, school and leisure to march in solidarity across various cities in the United States.  Their goal was twofold: 1) to highlight the importance of immigrants to the American economy; and 2) raise attention to the ongoing immigration debate. 

Some commentators have analogized the current immigration situation to the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s – a moment when the marginalized and discriminated against united, stood up and asked America to not only see them but hear them and give them their due rights.  While the march was successful in showcasing the importance of immigrants to the American economy, as some businesses were virtually forced to shutdown because none of their immigrant work force showed up, the march also highlighted the current divide in the nation in regards to the immigration issue. 

            As the immigrants and their supporters marched in their numbers, the people opposed to illegal immigration also marched concurrently across various cities in the United States.  They consisted of those who believe that illegal immigrants aren’t due any rights and that America can simply not sustain – both economically and environmentally, the number of people coming in.

            No matter which side of the debate you stood on that day, the march was successful in generating water cooler conversations that ranged from how to deal with the 11 million or so undocumented aliens, whether the doors should be closed, to whether a country built on the backs of immigrants should even have policies that deny access to incoming immigrants. 

            Regardless of your disposition, it is apparent that America is faced with a major crisis which requires an expeditious solution.  Whether this solution lies in closing the borders, providing a path to citizenship for undocumented aliens, or simply ignoring that there is a problem, it is apparent that America and the American way of life is affected daily by immigration and it is time for the whole country to take note.

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