Thousands protest Arizona law

The Associated Press

Angered by a controversial Arizona immigration law, tens of thousands of protesters rallied Saturday in cities nationwide, including Atlanta, demanding President Barack Obama tackle immigration reform.

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Rodrigo Cervantes, Mundo Hispanico Demonstrators marched around the Capitol carrying signs that read "How can I get a tax ID and not a driver's license" and "No 287G," which refers to the portion of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives local police immigration enforcement powers.

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Rodrigo Cervantes, Mundo Hispanico The largely Hispanic crowd was lively but orderly.

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“I want to thank the governor of Arizona because she’s awakened a sleeping giant,” said labor organizer John Delgado, who attended a rally in New York where authorities estimated 6,500 gathered.

Activists, families, students and even politicians marched, practiced civil disobedience and “came out” about their citizenship status in the name of rights for immigrants, including the estimated 12 million living illegally in the U.S.

The crowd that marched around the state Capitol in Atlanta was pegged at 5,000. Police estimated some 50,000 attended the largest gathering, in Los Angeles, where singer Gloria Estefan kicked off a massive downtown march. Estefan spoke in Spanish and English, proclaiming the United States is a nation of immigrants.

“We’re good people,” the Cuban-born singer said atop a flatbed truck. “We’ve given a lot to this country. This country has given a lot to us.”

Public outcry, particularly among immigrant rights activists, has been building since last week when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the legislation. Supporters say the law is necessary because of the federal government’s failure to secure the border, but critics contend it encourages racial profiling.

May 1, also International Workers Day, is a traditional date for political demonstrations. Immigration advocates latched onto that tradition in 2006, when more than 1 million people across the country — half a million alone in Chicago — protested federal legislation that would have made being an illegal immigrant a felony. That legislation ultimately failed.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer George Mathis and Mundo Hispanico contributed to this article.