Juana Amaya, center, a Canyon Springs junior, and others recite the Pledge of Allegiance in front of Las Vegas City Hall during a protest Saturday. The protest drew 150 people. Photo by Ruben D. Luevano.
An anti-immigration protester stomps on a Mexican flag in front of the federal courthouse, pounding it into a puddle of power steering fluid from a bottle thrown by a passing motorist. Photo by Ruben D. Luevano.
Johnny Macias, a 64-year-old Vietnam veteran of Mexican and Native American descent, left, argues with an anti-immigrant demonstrator who refused to give his name on Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. Photo by K.M. Cannon.
Students and other protesters wave Mexican and U.S. flags during a rally at Las Vegas City Hall after marching from Rancho High School on Saturday morning in a demonstration of support for illegal immigrants. Photos by K.M. Cannon.
Six-year-old Maricruz Gonzales-Mendez didn't know why she was about to march two miles in a long line of protesters Saturday morning.
Her dad, Roy Mendez, rolled his eyes and smiled. "Just after we finished explaining to her for a half an hour," he said.
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He bent over so that he was at eye level with his daughter and gently reminded her that she was walking "for Pati," her baby sitter, who is an illegal immigrant.
With Maricruz in tow, Mendez and his 35-year-old wife, Kathy Gonzales, were among approximately 150 protesters who marched Saturday to Las Vegas City Hall in opposition to an immigration reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally.
Mendez, Gonzales and their daughter are U.S. citizens, but like many of the protesters, they said illegal immigrants make up an important part of their social and family circles in Las Vegas.
The demonstration Saturday was organized by about 20 high school students who didn't want their fellow students to miss class while expressing their political views. Two protests last week took place on school days.
"We don't support walkouts. We feel you need an education to make changes," said 17-year-old Juana Amaya, a Canyon Springs junior who organized much of the protest.
Of her peers who protested last week, she said, "If they really care, they'll be here today."
But Saturday's event drew a much smaller crowd than Friday's, when about 2,800 students marched through the streets of downtown Las Vegas. It also was much smaller than the first demonstration, on Tuesday, when about 1,000 protesters -- almost entirely students -- walked along the Strip before rallying at Clark High School.
Saturday's ranks were bolstered by more adults, however, and not all of them were parents of local students. Many of them said they participated because they believe in the cause taken up by the students.
The crowd met at Rancho High School at 9 a.m. and in unison recited the Pledge of Allegiance, then started walking to City Hall, where they repeated the pledge before a short rally.
The event was peaceful, and the crowd was not confronted by any anti-immigration groups.
Las Vegas police officer Dave Rooney had it pegged before the start of the march.
"It (the crowd) is probably going to be lighter today because it's Saturday," he correctly predicted. It was an easy call because "there's no school to get out of," he said.
Rooney was among 20 motorcycle officers who protected protesters from traffic Saturday. They were joined by about 80 other Las Vegas police officers and 60 officers from other jurisdictions, Las Vegas police said.
Lanes on Owens Avenue, Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue were briefly closed as the demonstrators walked to City Hall and again when they returned to the school, causing some traffic congestion.
Families came out of their houses on Owens Avenue and waved as they watched the protesters go by.
"That's what Abraham Lincoln said, 'Respect the rights of others and make everybody free,'" Victor Ferandez said from his front yard.
Two men drinking beer out of 40-ounce cans cheered as the group passed by their apartment complex in the 1000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North.
The protesters chanted in Spanish and English, frequently shouting, "We can do it," "USA" or "Latino." They waved U.S. and Mexican flags.
Except for Maricruz, every protester interviewed by the Review-Journal opposed the House legislation.
"I think these protests will go on until that bill is not passed," said 21-year-old Roger Guzman, a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The Senate is expected to vote on legislation this week that would allow about 11 million illegal immigrants to stay and work in the United States. After six years, they can apply for a "green card." That card confers "permanent resident" status.
But most of the protesters, particularly those younger than college age, seemed to know few details about the various aspects of the immigration reform bills in Congress and said they wanted a simpler solution: amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Guzman said the high school students nonetheless deserved credit for taking action because they were protesting an injustice, a lack of rights for their friends and family.
"Obviously there is something wrong or you wouldn't see all these people out here," he said.
At UNLV, a meeting is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Moyer Student Union to organize another march for immigrant rights.
The pro-immigrant march wasn't the only demonstration on the issue Saturday. A second protest began at 1 p.m. in front of the federal courthouse. About 25 people -- including members of the White People's Party, white supremacists and a few others advocating a hard-line policy against illegal immigration -- protested against the Senate's legislation, which is more lenient toward illegal immigrants.
Mary Streitenberger, who pointed out that she is not a member of the White People's Party, joined their protest with her bullhorn.
"What I want to see is an enforcement-only bill that gets illegal immigrants out of this country before it becomes a civil war," she said.
She said she had no problem with Hispanic Americans who had legally become citizens -- so long as they do not support amnesty for their illegal friends and relatives.
Many members of the group with which she was protesting waved signs that read "Love your race" and "Deport Mexicans."
They were cheered by some passing motorists and jeered by others. One gave them all little U.S. flags; another threw an open bottle of power steering fluid at them.
Many members of the anti-immigrant group soon turned their wrath toward five anti-war protesters across Las Vegas Boulevard from the courthouse, and the resulting screaming match lasted about two hours.
From their opposite sides of the boulevard, the two groups volleyed insults. The anti-immigrant group called members of the anti-war group gay hippies and told them to go back to Mexico, and the anti-war group called members of the anti-immigrant group "Nazis" and "skinheads" and yelled anti-hate slogans.
One of the men protesting against immigrants had a swastika on his sweatshirt and gave the "heil Hitler" salute on Las Vegas Boulevard for about five minutes.
The anti-war group included Joe Sacco, a member of Project Counter Recruitment. At one point, Sacco and two others from his group crossed over to the sidewalk near the anti-immigrant group. Sacco and his cohorts were joined by 64-year-old Johnny Macias, who had stopped by to advocate for immigrants. The two sides debated within arm's reach of each other for about an hour under the watchful eyes of seven U.S. Marshals and four Las Vegas police officers, who were about 15 feet away. The arguing did not turn violent.
Sacco said he believes that people are angry because the Iraq war has ruined the economy and that they are misdirecting their frustration toward illegal immigrants. The immigration debate is merely taking away the public's attention from the tragedies of the war, he said.
But Michael O'Sullivan, the chairman of the White People's Party, had a simpler explanation for his group's motivation: "We have to counter all the protests in favor of the criminals."
The House bill is a start, he said, adding that his group would protest any legislation that rewards illegal immigrants.
"The different cultures and different races are in competition for natural resources. That's what it comes down to," O'Sullivan said.
At 3 p.m., the scheduled end time for O'Sullivan's protest, both groups stopped yelling, rolled up their flags and left.
