Immigrant groups staying home on day of rallies

While hundreds of cities and towns nationwide will have rallies today for immigrants rights, the Valley's own activist groups are planning to remain largely quiet.

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The Phoenix area, arguably the epicenter of the border debate, has no large marches planned to coincide with those scheduled in other major cities, including Tucson.

"A lot of that is because, at least in our way of looking at it, big marches don't necessarily bring the results," said Sal Reza, a Phoenix-area immigration activist and labor organizer.

Two years ago, massive protests were held in Phoenix and other cities across the nation, drawing more than 1 million demonstrators who wanted humane reforms to U.S. immigration laws.

While the events were a success in terms of organizing large groups and getting media attention, they failed to influence Congress, which voted against them on several border measures.

Reza said more people have been swayed by recent, smaller protests against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration sweeps than the major events of 2006.

"To us, the main thing is the daily fight here in Arizona," Reza said. "We've been having almost weekly events since the beginning of the year."

Most activists denied the sheriff's sweeps had any effect on the decision to sit out this year's marches, despite widespread tension in immigrant communities over the crackdowns.

"There is a feeling with many people that we have to find a way to bring people together," said Annie Loyd, an independent candidate for Congress who works closely with many immigrants rights groups in the Valley. "The biggest focus here in Arizona is getting people registered to vote."

Still, activists on the other side of the issue see today's absence of protesters in Phoenix as a victory.

Few in the Valley will march for immigrant rights "because of two words: Joe Arpaio," said William Gheen, founder of Americans for Legal Immigration, a North Carolina-based group that is tracking the protests nationally and helping organize counterprotests.

"I believe that if things fail in Phoenix, it will be because of Joe Arpaio, who is considered by a lot of people around the nation to be a hero," said Gheen, whose group opposes any law that benefits illegal immigrants.

Arpaio's sweeps have drawn complaints from Valley politicians, police and clergy members, who say the operations are, at best, stoking an already red-hot debate, or at worst, equivalent to racial profiling. The sheriff denies the accusations, saying his deputies are trained to avoid such practices.

Some of Arpaio's strongest supporters are planning their own rally today at the state Capitol, in an attempt to counter the nation's other demonstrations.

State Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, and the leader of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, are scheduled to speak at the event, which is being called USA Day. The two are among the state's most outspoken critics of illegal immigration.

Rusty Childress, the activist who organized the event, said it was meant to counter the rumored marches by pro-immigrant groups.

Reached late Wednesday, Childress said he hadn't heard that pro-immigrant groups in the Valley had largely decided to stay home.