The following information is being posted from a press release received today.   

For Immediate Release:
August 12, 2008

Detroit Latino March

Contact Information:

Elena Herrada 313 974 0501

Julio Cesar Guerrero 517 304 2743

A coalition of Detroit Latino community members is making a public statement against a series of recent incidents in southwest Detroit Barrio.

Also known as Mexican Town, southwest Detroit has historically been home for Latino
families dating back to the boom of the auto industry in the early 1900’s to migration
waves of recent years.

Post 911 times however has created a climate of animosity and inherent repression against the otherwise well adapted Latinos in Diaspora. Elena Herrada, local community organizer says that this anti immigrant attitude affects all Latinos in general driving some deeper into the underground economic where they become victims of unscrupulous employers, predator businesses, slum landlords, insensitive bureaucrats, and target of a variety of law enforcement units.

According to Ms. Herrada, there has been an unprecedented high ratio of wage and worker injury compensation claims amounting to thousands of dollars many workers seldom get to collect. ”Even if the state rules for the workers it is extremely difficult to collect their due pay” says Ms. Herrada.

Current trends effect all workers documented or not from the US born Latinos being
questioned about their legal status when they apply for a driver’s license to the random
stops and arrests by municipal and county police in and around the southwest Detroit area.

Public Action.
”As activists in spirit of the great civil rights movement we have decided to publicly protest current conditions of fear and oppression in our community” adds Herrada explaining that local activists and concerned citizens will march every Friday afternoon in Clark Park to educate people at large of the unique conditions in el Barrio Latino.

The Friday marches at 12 noon are planned to start this Friday, August 15th and last throughout the general election hoping to send a message to all candidates on the need for immigration reform.