A Day Without Immigrants May 1, 2006   Written by Wendy R. Williams Photographed by Angelo Rivera

On May 1, 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters boycotted work, school and shopping and took to the streets to protest the legislation in the House of Representatives that would make being an illegal immigrant or even helping one a crime.

I am from Texas, as is our President. And for once I can agree with President Bush on an issue. There neeeds to be a way to legalize the status of the hard working immigrants who fuel our economy with their willingness to take jobs in the lowest rungs of our economy. The reason that President Bush and I are such strange bedfellows on this issue is that we both grew up surrounded by hard working Mexican immigrants, both llegal and illegal. It is much harder to get into a mindset of "us and them" when you like and respect "them".

And if you are still think the door should have been closed right after your family made it inside ("Quick Mildred, run to the roof and start throwing tomatoes at the those funny looking folks in the back of the line while I barricade the door"), think about this: We need them! There was a very funny cartoon in Newsweek that showed a super market with a pile of oranges with the sign, "Oranges 3 for $20 - All Picked by American Workers." And if you don't catch the inherent racism in the border vigilantes, ask yourself why they are not patrolling the Canadian border, a far more likely portal for terrorists. Think about it.

New York Cool photographer Angelo Rivera was roaming the streets of Washington Heights when he took these photos. Enjoy!