“Should I allow myself to live like this any more and let this injustice continue?” asks an Occupier. (Jacqueline Armijo/Borderzine.com)

Occupy El Paso demonstrators demand social justice

EL PASO – Protesters crawled out of their tents and stretched as the morning sun greeted them at San Jacinto Plaza, all of them sharing a passion for banning corporate greed. At first I didn’t know how to feel about Occupy Wall Street, which is a movement that has gained momentum and spread to other parts of the U.S. and even the world. You have people protesting in Rhode Island, California, and Virginia and even in England. The movement is made up of people who established a peaceful protest although they come from different political backgrounds and religions. They argue that there should be an end to the corruption and self-indulgence of the wealthiest one percent of the U.S. population, which is inflicting a wrong upon the rest of the U.S. – the other 99 percent of Americans.

The El Paso Occupiers mingle next to Los Lagartos sculpture. (Luis Hernández/Borderzine.com)

El Paso’s Occupy movement seeks justice, but their expectations may be too great

EL PASO – There are small herds of them scattered between the trees, some shirtless and tanned from the sun, sitting around in cozily crammed circles that are set-up between their tents along with various handwritten signs they have made and carried for weeks. I went into the San Jacinto Park completely convinced that I would be called to join their ranks of Occupy El Paso and come out smelling like the downtown streets of El Paso. I thought that they would try to convert me and convince me to go pro-hippy, sleeping in the grass with them, and laughing over text messages out loud to each other while a siren goes streaking by, but that’s before I stumbled into the red and white-striped food tent and got a taste of humility. In the food tent, I timidly approached a man in a tan sun hat, with clear blue eyes that wrinkled when he proudly told me he had been Occupying El Paso for 10 days. When he started talking about his story, I nearly joined the Occupy movement on the spot – but didn’t.

People from different walks of life are demanding change. (Luis Hernández/Borderzine.com)

Occupy El Paso movement decries economic and social injustice in America – Video

EL PASO – Occupy El Paso demonstrators set up tents in the usually vacant San Jacinto Plaza in downtown as part of a national protest against perceived economic inequality and corporate control of government. Students, college graduates, homeless persons, professors, the unemployed and employed are few examples of individuals displaying their frustration about unemployment, the nation’s economic despair and the federal government’s bailout of banks. Fabiola Martinez, a young, courageous, and jovial woman was one of the many individuals expressing her feelings on how the government has treated its people. “The government is not paying attention to what the people want and need. They are oblivious to what we need; our school systems and health care are failing,” said Martinez.

Paseños celebran suspensión parcial de la ley antiinmigrante SB 1070

EL PASO, Texas — La unión de las palabras “festejo” y “protesta” resulta inusual. Sin embargo, el binomio fue utilizado ayer 29 de julio, a nivel local, gracias a que la juez federal Susan Bolton, emitiera recientemente en Phoenix una suspensión provisional de las porciones más racistas de la ley antiinmigrante SB 1070. Fue así como lo que prometía ser una jornada de protesta en contra de la ley de Arizona y de reafirmación humanista a favor de los inmigrantes indocumentados, se convirtió en fiesta de la sociedad civil. De esta manera más de 200 personas, integrantes de diversas generaciones de inmigrantes, se congregaron frente al nuevo edificio de la Corte Federal del juez Albert Armendáriz, en la confluencia de las calles San Antonio y Campbell, en el Downtown de El Paso. ¿Por qué festejo?

Obama en deuda por promesa de reforma migratoria

WASHINGTON D.C. — Más de 22 millones de personas de diferentes partes del mundo residen ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos, de acuerdo a www.immigrationcounters.com. Estas personas no tienen derecho a obtener ayudar financiera para adquirir  propiedades, votar u obtener seguro médico. Pero el 21 de marzo pasado esta sociedad invisible caminó hacia Capitol Hill en Washington, DC, con una voz y un mensaje: O se lleva a cabo un proyecto de ley para una reforma migratoria u Obama pierde la aprobación política de los hispanos. Entre las 200,000 personas que se reunieron en el Washington Mall el penúltimo domingo de marzo se encontraba Héctor Echeverría, un trabajador indocumentado quien  lleva 10 años viviendo en Chicago y quien describió su experiencia en la marcha. “Estamos cansados de escuchar a nuestros oficiales del congreso hablar de una reforma migratoria… queremos acción”, dijo Echeverría.