Thousands of workers waved American flags, marched to mariachi music and rallied for labor and immigrant rights in downtown Los Angeles last week, as May Day gatherings drew light but peaceful crowds

The Los Angeles Times reports that in Los Angeles, where about 8,500 people took part in three separate marches that merged to rally at 1st Street and Broadway, some participants said fear of government raids and growing apathy about prospects for change had dampened turnout. About 20,000 had been expected to participate.  "A lot of people feel that nothing is being done," said Xochilt Pacheco, 30, a Mexican American from Highland Park whose father is an illegal immigrant. She wore a white dress with the slogans "We are workers, not criminals" and "Legalize me" printed in red letters. "We march and nothing is done. We march and there are raids," she said.

Others said the lower turnout was a reflection of the immigrant rights movement's shift in focus from marches to voter registration and other civic activities, a decision not to push boycotts of school and work this year, and a preoccupation with contract negotiations and other issues. Unlike in past years, the Service Employees International Union Local 1877 and the We are America Alliance, a coalition of churches, labor unions and community groups, were not heavily involved in organizing this year's marches.  "This year, we're focusing on civic engagement work," said march participant Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles .

The May Day marches, which historically commemorate International Workers' Day, have been specifically used in Los Angeles to celebrate the contributions of the immigrant workers who make up nearly half of the county's workforce. They took place amid continuing fierce debate over immigration reform proposals, which have stalled in Congress.  

******

CBS News is facing a large amount of criticism over a segment it ran about undocumented immigrant women in the US , according to Politico.com.  The story’s central figure was a woman identified as an undocumented immigrant, who was lying in her South Texas hospital bed — her right arm wrapped around her newborn and her left hand punctured by an intravenous needle — while reporter Byron Pitts lectured her that "many Americans who struggle to take care of their own families think it is unfair that they should have to take care" of non-U.S. citizens.   

Critics contend that the piece was biased, contained inaccurate information, and far below the network’s journalistic standards.  "Anti-Latino falsehoods deserve no time on our public airwaves," stated a letter to CBS by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the National Council of La Raza. The groups and others have asked to meet with CBS "to help raise the dialogue and provide the American public an honest and accurate analysis of this nation’s broken immigration system." And in a separate letter to CBS, the Asian American Justice Center lodged a similar complaint against the entire four-part series that included the report.   

In its written complaint to CBS, MALDEF cited a Texas comptroller’s study noting economic benefits due to the presence of undocumented immigrants. MALDEF also maintained the CBS report exposes the woman "and implicitly leads her to believe that she is protected from deportation." And it portrayed birthright citizenship as "an unfair benefit to immigrants rather than a core principle" of constitutional law.

One troubling issue in the news story involved a hospital administrator’s statement that the facility has "uncompensated care of over $200 million a year," which the reporter tied to emergency room care for non-citizens, a statistic that could not possibly be known if the hospital does not verify citizenship or legal vs. illegal immigration status.  

CBS has not responded to the civil rights groups’ request for a meeting. "We appreciate the passionate and articulate feedback on our series. We will continue to do our best to listen to the many voices engaged in immigration issues, to produce fair and accurate stories and to bring national attention to this complicated topic," CBS said in a statement.  

*****

The Dallas Morning News reports that the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, a Mexican governmental organization, recently wrapped up a conference bringing Mexican immigrant leaders and US labor leaders together last week to carry on the commitment of defending immigrant workers – both legal and illegal – the primary theme of the conference. The conference sought also to discuss the impact the Latino immigrant vote, now stronger than ever, would have in shaping future American elections and policy, particularly immigration laws. 

"In over 40 years of organizing, I've never seen this level of interest and it will be good for this democracy," said Eliseo Medina, conference organizer, and executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest labor groups in the U.S. Mr. Medina urged the advisory council of the Mexican government's Institute for Mexicans Abroad to organize, to vote and to push for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, as the conference moved into its second day.  "We can't have two classes of workers here," Mr. Medina said in Spanish.

It began on Tuesday with an address by Mexico 's President Felipe Calderón, who called himself "an ally who is indefatigably on the side of the Mexicans in the United States ." Later Tuesday evening, Mr. Calderón met privately with a group that calls itself the American and Mexican Anti-Discrimination Alliance, and has received organizing assistance from the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League – two groups that have long fought anti-Semitism.

"We have been the focus of many attacks," said organizer Gloria Inzunza-Franco, a Mexican immigrant and university administrator from the Long Beach area. "We always hear about the negative as though it were the norm."