Immigrants taking Focus off Iraq?

Subject: Re: Moral Imperative of Immigration
Although it may be a good thing that they are speaking out, you gotta know that Bush is loving this because it is taking the focus off Iraq, and every issue involving the war

The comments above are a response to my article entitled Moral Imperative of Immigration that's posted in this blog. I also posted the article in another room for veterans and the folks who were down in the Gulf for the march from Mobile to New Orleans. Below is my response to the comments:

Are we to say the human rights issues of the Chicano, Latino, Hispanic, Nigerian, Irish, Arab immigrants (and all I failed to mention)are any less urgent than the humans rights in Iraq or any other place our imperialism has intruded and cast humans into crisis?
And did our trip to the Gulf to stand in solidarity with Katrina survivors take us off focus?
I think our goal should be to connect with the groups of oppressed and marginalized people mentioned and create a coalition that represents the "true" America witnessed in these huge marches. Marches that humble any peace and justice rally or march since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars began.
There's opportunity waiting for us in the peace and justice communities to join in solidarity with the immigrants and any other oppressed group. I don't advocate hijacking the movements for our purposes as has happened on occasion, however.
I advocate truly joining in the actions of the people to allow them to know we are with them and allow ourselves the gift of being with what Federico Pena (former Denver mayor) called "an ocean of beauty" when he addressed the 75,000 marchers in Denver yesterday.
It goes without saying Bush will manipulate this issue as he's done 9/11 and every other high profile issue. Should we allow Bush and racists like Tom Tancredo (House Rep - Colo) to dictate our tactics and actions?
We play to the mainstream press in so many ways we sometimes become pawns of the system ourselves, it seems. I don't think we can make everything a soundbite or a press op.
In his column today, Mike Littwin of the Rocky Mountain News, quoted a recent editorial he came across:
"Organizers 'should ask themselves whether their cause would not be better served now by a period of calm.....rather than by new demonstrations which heat the emotions and fears of even moderate' citizens".
Littwin suggests most of us would guess this editorial was one in the LA Times in recent days. It actually was a 1965 LA Times editorial about those who were about to march on Montgomery, Alabama.
Please note that Vietnam, Civil Rights, Women's Rights, environmental causes and much more occurred simultaneously during this time of history.
They were all part of a bigger picture that we continue to want compartmentalized. We can do that if we want but I believe we'll be a morally bankrupt movement if we leave any behind to just focus on one of the connected issues.
I can't see us winning any struggle without solidarity with the communities we saw in the streets yesterday and in the Gulf during the week of March 19th. I believe we do have a moral imperative to embrace immigrant rights as a struggle we all should be part of as humans.
I don’t believe we allow the reaction of oppressors to dictate what the right thing to do is.

Terry Leichner, RN
Denver VVAW