There are immigrant marches going on today , but not on the scale seen last May 1.

Our newspaper building is located right across the street from the federal courthouse and a small gathering of protesting students is gathered there now. The students are handing out petitions. I expected it to be about rights for undocumented workers, but instead it was a petition urging Congress to declare March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.

The petition reads, in part: He led the historic non-violent movement of poor working people…He inspired farm workers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism.

Those pushing for this national holiday chose March 31 because it’s the birthday of Chavez.

Rebecca Nappi photo/The Spokesman-Review