Tallahassee

Hundreds of immigration activists and their supporters have crashed the gates of the state Capitol this week, making their presence felt as lawmakers consider immigration proposals in both the House and Senate.

Kathy Bird, one of the coordinators for the We Are Florida campaign, said the whole point of dramatically escalating the stakes with so many activists is to put a face on the issue of illegal immigration, and she thinks it may be working.

"I do think we're making a difference," she told CL around 12:30 on Wednesday, alluding to the fact that groups of activists have already held impromptu meetings this week with Senators J.D. Alexander and Mike Haridopolos. "We want to give a face to the faceless. We're women, we're mothers, we're children, we're workers, we're students, we're human beings, and these bills aren't just bad for people who are undocumented, they're bad for all Floridians, and especially people who may be labeled as being immigrant because of the way that they look."

Bird says that states like Mississippi, Kentucky and even Arizona have opted not to to pass any more anti-immigrant measures "because they see the damage that it's done to Arizona."

This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.