Brenda Perez of Nashville, Tenn. is arrested on First Street after protesters marched to the Capitol Tuesday. Perez was part of a group of three activists from Workers Dignity from Nashville who were arrested for civil disobedience. (Andrés Rodríguez/SHFWire)

Historically effective civil disobedience is now a tool in the fight for immigration reform

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EL PASO — Worries press through Brenda Perez’s mind as she is escorted into a Washington, D.C. jail cell. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if they act on my immigrant status? What if I don’t get out?”
She looks at the others, some without legal documentation, who are being processed with her. She realizes she is in there for them, for other young members of her family who are in the U.S. without papers, and for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country.

(Javier Cervantes/Borderzine.com)

Occupy El Paso – A wimpy protest against an ambiguous foe

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EL PASO – The cold morning breeze of October blurs the historical Plaza of San Jacinto where a handful of people occupy the plaza in an act of solidarity, adopting a cause originated by one national feeling: inconformity. Occupy Together is undoubtedly the most important movement of the decade, spreading all across the country and some important cities around the world; and although Occupy El Paso is not as massive as in New York, or as aggressive as the Oakland (Cal.) movement, it is still a symbol that conveys the same message. For the past three weeks, San Jacinto plaza has witnessed how both workers and jobless rally against the unfair distribution of wealth in the U.S. From students drowning in a sea of debt to veterans from all the 20th and 21st century wars, the diversity of the crowd is vast. “I’m here because I truly believe that we actually can do something,” said Claudia, an Iraq War veteran who encountered a jobless country after the war. Like Claudia, I had experienced some of the same problems that started this movement; however, sincerely speaking I remain a little bit skeptical about the honesty of our petitions.