Immigrant Rally April 9th

Immigrant Rally April 9th Bruce P. Corrie, PhD corrie@csp.edu On my way to the rally it already became clear that it was going to be a massive one as I saw the traffic clogged up on the freeway and people walking towards the Capitol from as far as Dale Street. As the crowd made its way to the Capitol the entire stretch of road into the Capitol from across the freeway was filled with a mass of humanity with banners and drums. I was glad to see a multiethnic turnout including a small group representing Korean Americans. As I walked through the crowds from places like Saint Cloud the thought struck me that the average age of the crowd was around 25 – a significant policy implication for Minnesota. This segment is going to be Minnesota’s prime workforce in the future as well as some of the people in the prime tax base. In Minnesota as in the nation we are also beginning to see the silent invisible worker coming out in angry defiance. My inspiration from the people of the rally was dampened by the thought that I have yet to see a comprehensive policy response from our political representatives here at Minnesota and in Washington.