Agree: Would be great if media actually reported the message of hardworking immigrants and advocates who are calling for sensible reform. This is a year's old march: but with serious momentum and purpose this year as we haven't been this close to fixing our broken immigration system in over a generation.

@2, Actually - they are. I happen to be watching KOMO.

It is worth pointing out that there is some tension between the idea of a more liberal immigration policy and the idea of advancing the interests of American workers.

Who was pushing immigration reform in 2007? Democrats and Hispanic organizations, sure. But remember, quite a few Republicans, including President Bush and Senator McCain were all in favor of the idea too.

Why do you suppose that is?

And why do you suppose the Chamber of Commerce is so gung ho on the idea?

I suggest that the answer is that increased immigration of people from across the educational spectrum serves the interests not of workers but of employers. Immigrants add to the labor force, increasing its supply. And in an environment where demand for labor is already slack, that can only serve to push wages even further down (and add directly to the bottom line).

Moreover, new immigrant workers, especially migrants and guest workers, are far more likely to accept pay that is lower than the prevailing wage. Again, that hurts the interests of Americans already here.

Nor is this just an effect limited to blue collar work and unskilled labor. The expanded H1B program is directly targeted at displacing well-paid (or overpaid) white collar workers, especially in IT, something that ought to be of keen interest to The Stranger's readership.

I understand that the dynamics of immigration policy go beyond the economic sphere. There is a real history of racism and prejudice that needs to be addressed. But, as Cesar Chavez recognized, many of these immigration reforms are aimed squarely at attacking the interests of anyone not in the capital class.

A quick skim of the national media via Google News suggests that The Stranger is a bit of an outlier-- most news organs seem to be reporting largely on the Immigration protestors and only briefly mentioning anarchists, while Goldy and Team Slog are doing just the opposite.

Clearly thousands of protesters, not hundreds.