Immigrants Vow To Keep Up Pressure

About 1M People Rallied In U.S. Cities On 'Day Without Immigrants'

(CBS/AP) 
In Chicago, illegal immigrants from Ireland and Poland marched alongside Hispanic as office workers on lunch breaks clapped. In Phoenix, protesters formed a human chain in front of Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores. Protesters in Tijuana, Mexico, blocked vehicle traffic heading to San Diego.

Many carried signs in Spanish that translated to "We are America" and "Today we march, tomorrow we vote." Others waved Mexican flags or wore hats and scarves from their native countries. Some chanted "USA" while others shouted slogans, such as "Si se puede!" Spanish for "Yes, it can be done!" Others were more irreverent, wearing T-shirts that read "I'm illegal. So what?"

Industries that rely on immigrant workers were clearly affected, though the impact was not uniform.

Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, shuttered about a dozen of its more than 100 plants and saw "higher-than-usual absenteeism" at others. Most of the closures were in states such as Iowa and Nebraska.

Goya Foods, which bills itself as the nation's largest Hispanic-owned food chain, suspended delivery everywhere except Florida in what the company called a gesture of solidarity.

None of the 175 seasonal laborers who normally work Mike Collins' 500 acres of Vidalia onion fields in southeastern Georgia showed up.

"We need to be going wide open this time of year to get these onions out of the field," he said. "We've got orders to fill. Losing a day in this part of the season causes a tremendous amount of problems."

Pitts reports that unlike last month's wave of demonstrations, politicians didn't simply take notice, many also showed up Monday.

"The problem is we've been engaging in hypocrisy in this country," Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., told Pitts. "We don't mind these folks mowing our lawns, looking after our children or serving us at restaurants, as long as they don't actually ask for any rights in return."

CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports that Republicans who want to crack down on illegal immigration say these protests backfire and only make their supporters more determined.

Meanwhile, immigration legislation on Capitol Hill is stalled, and for the moment going no where, Fuss reported. A harsh enforcement-only bill –the initial trigger for Monday's demonstrations – has passed the House but nothing has passed the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told CBS News' The Early Show that the Senate is addressing immigration reform and says he will bring back "comprehensive reform in about two weeks — comprehensive reform that starts by tightening our borders."

"Then also address the fact that we have 12 million people in this country today, we don't know who they are," Frist added. "They're in the shadows, and we need to devise a plan to bring them out of the shadows, short of amnesty, but treats them in a fair and compassionate way."