May Day march through Aurora in jeopardy

May Day is less than two weeks away and Aurora resident and activist Jose Luis Del Bosque is a man without a march.

Aurora officials Tuesday postponed approval of Bosque's Stand and March organization's permit to march through Aurora on May 1 in support of immigration reform because the group's proposed route causes "quite a few logistical problems."

The group requested to march from St. Nick's Church on High Street to Illinois Avenue and to finish with a rally at the Prisco Community Center and McCullough Park.

The Fox Valley Park District, however, is hosting summer program registration there that day and police said total costs to oversee the march could total as much as $10,000 in overtime and other associated costs.

Bosque said he hopes to work with the city to host the march, which was first held in Aurora in 2003 and again in 2006, but said if cost or city regulations cause too many problems, he'll take his approximately 2,000 marchers to Chicago to participate in the larger march.

"We were going to go to Chicago to march this year, but a lot of our residents felt they wanted to march here. We all feel that we still have to make a stand, but we want to make it where the city assists us," he said. "We want to do this all by the book and with the cooperation of the city, but if we can't have that, we'll move on."

Bosque said his organization is marching to demand an easier path to citizenship for those who are already here and to oppose the proposed Arizona Senate Bill 1070 that would make it a state crime not to carry proof of immigration status and would require police to ask about a person's immigration status if there is any doubt.

Some aldermen believe costs can be kept to a minimum and safety could be ensured if the group simply held a rally in Phillips Park.

"Why do you have to march? Can't you rally instead of march, given the costs?" asked 4th Ward Alderman Rick Lawrence. "It's still a protest and you still get to voice your opinion."

Alderman at Large Robert O'Connor said it's important to honor the group's First Amendment rights.

"I think it goes back farther than the streets of Boston in regards of protest, but I could hear the King's representative saying 'This is too costly to march. Why march? Can't you just go to the square and tell us what you think?'"

But Bosque said he felt persuading the group not to march was like sweeping them into the corner.

"Some of the members like to be seen, so taking us to Phillips Park is like really let's just have a volleyball party," Bosque said. "And we want new immigration reform, not a game of volleyball in the park."

Moga said she'd work with the group to find a march route everyone can agree on before Tuesday's city council meeting.

"We're trying to work with the group because there are some people who will march regardless of whether we approve this or not. So we are trying to do this in a safe manner and make sure all bases are covered, so where they March the streets are closed and police are present," Moga said.