Broadway and Olympic

Broadway and Olympics meaning to Los Angeles Immigration history begins with understanding the climate of Immigration during the early 2000s. HR 4437, was not the first of its kind, throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, there has been an increase in anti-immigration laws. In 1996, Bill Clinton was running for re-election, in order to have a better chance at winning, Clinton tried to help pass IIRIRA. (Goodman 176) This act stripped immigrants rights, it made immigration officials able to apprehend and detain immigrants easier, and also stripped rights away from people facing deportation. This law contains an enforcement only approach. However, this did not fix the “problem”, “Enforcement only doesn’t work. More money and agents hasn’t led to fewer undocumented immigrants. From 1993 to 2004, the number of Border Patrol agents tripled (from about 4000 to about 11,000) and the amount of spending has gone up five times (from $740 million to $3.8 billion), yet the number of undocumented immigrants doubled (from 4.5 million to 9.3 million).” (Timothy H. Edgar) This led to President Bush's act of HR 4437 to try and slow down the number of immigrants coming into the country. HR 4437, allowed the government to have powers to apprehend and detain immigrants, which could lead to years of legal battles, that could result in a life sentence, without ever being convicted of a crime (Timothy H. Edgar). During this time the public's perception of illegal immigration and immigration as a whole was a negative one. Many people blamed them for the issues in America. 

As time grew on, immigrants began to feel frustrated from the lack of respect from the government. This led to the May 1st protest that was at the heart of Broadway and Olympic. These protests were felt throughout the US in cities like Miami, and Chicago. (CNN) Broadway and Olympic was the avenue where immigrants felt like they could better voice their frustration about a government that seems to be against them. The LA Times illustrates this concept, “they participated in a boycott of work and commerce, rallying to demonstrate their importance to the U.S. economy and to demand changes in immigration law that would give illegal migrants a path to citizenship.” This source furthers the point of contention between the government and immigrants. The government is rushing to belittle their impact on the United States, and blames them for many things. While many immigrants just want a fair shake from the place they call their home. Many of the immigrants protesting had an immeasurable impact on the economy as a whole, in order to show this, LA times writes, “Thousands of businesses were shuttered on the “Day Without Immigrants” as workers and their families, most of them from Mexico, participated in a boycott of work and commerce.” The goal of this was to show exactly how big their impact on business is, many people point to the addition they add in the labor force, but they also have many members in the military. 

In addition to the effect that many immigrants had on business, they also had an effect on the military, many people held signs that showed that they had family members that had served. (Immigration Protest LA Times) This concept has been seen before. In the 1940s there were people that were allowed into the country for their impact on labor, this program was known as the Bracero Program. These people were not allowed to bring family in and were only allowed as long as the country could exploit them. This is similar to the people that served in the military, the government was willing to deport any and all illegal immigrants but allows their family to serve in the military which in turn benefits them. In addition, both groups of people faced racist attitudes. (Garcia)

This location was chosen for several reasons, the first being, that this location was near city hall, many of the marches began here and eventually went to city hall. City hall is a symbolic place, it is the place where change is created. In addition, Broadway and Olympic was a location that was very close to where many immigrants lived or where they conducted business. In other words, the neighborhood surrounding Broadway and Olympic is known as the Fashion district where many immigrants conduct business. The fashion district was once known as the center of the LA garment trade. The fashion district is an area dominated by immigrants, during the protest many people shut down their businesses that were in the fashion district, in order to show their value to the US economy. 

“Marchers Fill L.A.'s Streets.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2006, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-02-me-main2-story.html. 

Latino Mass Mobilization. Cambridge Univ Pr, 2017. 

“Immigration Protest.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/la-me-protest26mar26-pg-photogallery.html.

Edgar, Timothy H. “ACLU Memo to Interested Persons Regarding Concerns in H.R. 4437, the ‘Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005.’” American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.org/other/aclu-memo-interested-persons-regarding-concerns-hr-4437-border-protection-antiterrorism-and. 

Goodman, Adam. The Deportation Machine. Princeton University Press, 2020. 

Garcia, Jerry. “Bracero Program.” The Oregon Encyclopedia, www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bracero_program/#.YFGSnS1h1QI. 

“Thousands March for Immigrant Rights.” CNN, Cable News Network, www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/01/immigrant.day/.