Yuma-area officials fear more marches may further polarize people

BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, SUN STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY TERRY KETRON/THE SUN

Monday's immigration protests brought out feelings between "Anglos" and "Hispanic immigrants" that have been hidden for decades, says Hugo Oliva, the Mexican consul in Yuma.

Petra Santos, a social activist in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., meanwhile says the protests have brought to light the "racial divide" that is widening between Hispanic immigrants and Anglos in communities like Yuma.

Monday's boycotts and protests were the latest in a series of demonstrations in Yuma and around the nation over U.S. immigration policy, and they are raising concerns that more marches may serve only to further polarize people in the immigration debate.

In Yuma County, about half of the population is of Latino or Hispanic origin, according to the latest census data.

At a march through Yuma Monday, some protesters waved Mexican flags. Some counterprotesters held up signs that used language like "wetback."

Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson said he was "insulted" by cars driving down the street at Yuma protests with Mexican flags.