Officials Speak on Immigration, Beatings
By ALEX HERBACH
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Saturday, May 19, 2007

Protestors rally near MacArthur Park Thursday in support of immigration reform and to protest the beatings at the May 1 rally by members of the LAPD.

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance held a press conference Thursday to discuss immigration reform and alleged police brutality during an immigration rally on May 1, when scores of protestors were harassed, beaten and shot with rubber bullets in MacArthur Park.
Asian American community leaders were gathered at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, steps away from the park. The majority of the speakers expressed their horror and bewilderment with the level of police brutality exhibited by the Los Angeles Police Department earlier this month.

“[May Day] shook me to my core,” said Judy Chu, vice-chair of the California Board of Equalization. “The LAPD have not only broken the bones of demonstrators, they have broken the trust of all of Los Angeles’ residents.”

Chu spoke on how the violence has interrupted the long-existing balance between law enforcement and citizens voicing their First Amendment rights.  She feels that this relationship has taken a substantial step back and insisted that the LAPD be held accountable for their actions, including the individual punishment of officers involved in the beatings.       
Warren Furutani, current member of the L.A. Community College Board of Trustees, supported Chu’s assertions.

“Young people have asked me, ‘what was it like back in [the Sixties]?’ Ironically, now we can show them exactly what it was like. The police riot that took place on May 1, that was the kind of attitude that existed within the police department,” said Furutani.

Though most reiterated the various setbacks that the abuse has brought on the community, many felt the misconduct revealed latent prejudices that sill exist within the police department.
The beatings have come at a very critical moment in the history of this country’s immigration dialogue. The press conference was held the same day the White House announced a plan that would grant legal status to millions of immigrants if approved.

The conference was also held in conjunction with another immigration rally and vigil. Protestors like those who marched Thursday and on May Day, some speakers said, cannot be deterred must should advance without complacency.

“We must always be vigilant and not turn our backs on civil liberties,” said Assemblyman Mike Eng of the 49th District. “It’s a great wake-up call. The community needs continually to address how we view the police.”

But as the conference moved forward, speakers continually returned to the shock they felt first-hand as witnesses to the May Day brutality.

“Every day I think about the mother who was separated from her child and I am so thankful that I did not bring my own children for the first time,” said Aquilina Soriano Versoza of the Pilipino Worker Center, who spoke with sincerity and emotion. “I’m still traumatized by the story of a father who was shot six times in the back while he was trying to shield his children.”

Any individuals who witnessed the violence or were themselves victims are asked to contact Yungsuhn Park of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center at (213) 241-0213 with any information.

Thursday’s rally began at a church west of downtown and marched up Wilshire Avenue to return to MacArthur Park.

As the nearly 2000 participants approached the park, chanting (si se puede—“it can be done”) and waving American flags, several police officers were waiting for them…with bullhorns rather than bullets.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” they said to the crowd, both in Spanish and English.
While the marchers and their supporters were all Mexican, many of the Asian-descended speakers at the press conference stressed that the issue was not the Latin communities’ alone.
“70 percent of the [Asian] community are immigrants,” said Furutani. “And in a nation of immigrants, what could be more important than having policies that serve the people of this country because we are all immigrants in one way or another.”