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On Saturday, more than half a million people turned out on the streets of downtown Los Angeles in what was the largest march in the city’s history. Wearing mostly white, immigrants, their families, and their supporters poured out of city buses and trains to fill 26 city blocks. They were carrying US and Mexican flags, and signs against HR 4437, the harshest anti-immigrant Congressional bill in recent history. Los Angeles immigrants joined their counter parts in cities across the country who marched against the bill last week. The Senate is set to debate its version of HR 4437 today. While many Republicans plan to push the enforcement-only bill, President Bush favors a guest worker program. Some immigrant groups are backing a bill by Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy that is a guest worker program with what’s called “earned legalization.” Dozens of members of the clergy plan to show up to the nation’s Capitol today wearing handcuffs to protest the proposed criminalization of their aid programs for poor immigrants.

We begin the program with the sounds of Saturday’s historic march in Los Angeles. KPFK was at the march, broadcasting live from outside City Hall. I spoke with several people at the demonstration. I also witnessed a right-wing anti-immigrant activist attempt to incite the marchers with an inflammatory sign.