After gathering at Saint Anthony's church in Menlo Park, the 250 protesters were joined by others as they marched through working-class and Latino neighborhoods to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Redwood City. Others came out of houses and small businesses expressing support for the demands.

The march and rally was sponsored by the Bay Area Gardeners Association, a group of gardening workers and small contractors founded in 1998. Among the chants were "No nos vamos a cansar. La licencia para manejar" (We will not tire--drivers license), and "no more tickets," aimed at cops blocking the entrance to the DMV. As in recent immigrant rights actions in Sacramento and San Jose, participants in the march were spirited and confident.

Three days later a demonstration of 100 in Salinas grew in size as it marched through that city. Workers drove to the action from Fresno, Palo Alto, and San Mateo. Members of the Indigenous Oaxacan Front of Mexico participated in the action. Signs at the rally demanded, "Amnesty for all," "No taxation without legalization," and said, "Braceros no, Amnistía sí," referring to proposals by the U.S. and Mexican governments to set up an expanded "guest worker" program, similar to the "Bracero" program that ended in the 1960s. This program is aimed at providing the capitalist class with a massive, low-paid, and temporary workforce of mainly Mexican immigrants who would have no option to stay in the United States.

The Salinas march and rally was sponsored by The Citizen Project, an organization founded by members of Teamsters Local 890 in response to the passage of the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in 1994. The group's goal is to defend the rights of workers from all countries.

More protests are scheduled for May 27 and August 25 in San Jose.

José Sandoval, a leader of the Aztec Information Center in San Jose, reports that he has received numerous calls from across the country in response to radio interviews about the protests, including on nationally transmitted Spanish language stations. "I have so far faxed petitions to people in 37 areas who said they will circulate them," said Sandoval.

The petition is addressed to governors and the U.S. Congress and president. The petition demands the right for immigrant workers to have a drivers license and a Social Security card, the right to become a legal resident in the United States, and an end to police brutality and the massive imprisonment of working-class Latinos.

The protests come in response to the decision by DMV officials last October to begin verifying the validity of all new Social Security numbers through a linkup with the Social Security Administration as part of getting or renewing a drivers license. The DMV is also verifying all existing licenses with the Social Security Administration.

The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act passed by Congress under the Clinton administration required a Social Security number to be included on drivers licenses by the year 2000. Currently 29 states use a Social Security number as the drivers license number or show it on the license.

Many demonstrators are supporting a bill now before the state legislature that would allow an applicant for a drivers license to submit identification other than a Social Security number. A common sign at the rally in front of the Department of Motor Vehicles read, "The DMV is not the immigration service."

Deborah Liatos is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 120.  
 
 
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