This past Saturday was May Day, an annual event where the open borders and reconquista crowd show their ugly faces to the nation. Violence, anti-Americanism, and extremism is always on display at May Day rallies, as evidenced by Michelle Malkin here.

This year’s May Day was no exception. A May Day rally in Santa Cruz for immigrant workers turned into a violent riot leaving fifteen businesses vandalized.

A large group of protesters demonstrating at a May Day rally for worker’s and immigrant rights downtown broke off into a riot vandalizing about a dozen businesses around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.

Many in the group were carrying makeshift torches as they marched, breaking storefront windows and writing “anarchist graffiti” on buildings, according to Capt. Steve Clark. Many businesses sustained multiple broken windows including very large storefront windows at Urban Outfitters and The Rittenhouse building. Police believe at least 15 businesses suffered damage.

The violence was initiated from a group holding a rally at the town clock for May Day. Windows at Jamba Juice and Velvet Underground were left shattered and graffiti including anarchy signs were tagged onto buildings.

Because of the size and violent demeanor of the crowd, Santa Cruz police asked for help from all agencies in the county to break up the riot. At one point, protesters lit a fire on the porch of Caffe Pergolesi and blocked access to firefighters, officers said. Police were able to clear out the demonstrators before more damage was caused.
A large rock sat outside Verizon Wireless on the 100 block of Cooper Street, where vandals tried to break the window twice, according to Clark.

“The damage that was caused was without purpose,” Clark said. “It was senseless violence that victimized a community who cannot afford to be victimized in this manner. This did nothing to add credit to whatever they believed their cause was.”

You can say that again.

Several people were able to capture video footage of the rioting as well as documenting the aftermath.

It’s as if illegal immigrants, who are of course furious over the Arizona immigration law, are going out of their way to prove that Arizona legislators were right. This isn’t the first illegal immigrant protest that’s turned violent, and it won’t be the last. In fact, violence seems to always occur at their rallies. You wouldn’t think so if you listened to the mainstream media, of course. It’s the Tea Parties, with the racist, gun-toting hillbilly wingnuts who are violent. Nevermind that they’ve been so peaceful that police rarely feel the need to send in a large presence — except when our Dear Leader feels threatened by the little old ladies, of course.

Now, if this had happened in Mexico, the rioters would have been shot on sight and anyone thought to be harboring or assisting illegal immigrants would have been thrown in prison. Here in America, they get off scot free. The federal government completely ignores their responsibility to enforce our borders and our immigration laws, leading to overwhelming crime in border states and the rise of MS-13, now the fastest growing gang in the United States. And why should anyone be surprised? The left has succeeded in painting a picture of illegal immigrants as good, honest people who just want to make a living. Why anyone would be shocked when these “good, honest people” end up being nothing more than criminals who leech off our welfare system is a surprise to me. What a novel concept — someone who was willing to commit a crime by entering our country illegally is more likely to be a criminal!

Think about it. If these people completely flout our immigration laws, why would they bother to obey any other laws? Why should we trust them to, when they’ve already entered our country as criminals? It would make perfect sense to anyone possessing any common sense. Politicians are too busy worrying about the millions of Hispanic votes they could be getting to really deal with the problem, leaving states like Arizona to suffer.

Whenever liberals and open-borders advocates try to paint illegal immigrants as innocent little lambs who deserve to be here, just remember this riot — hell, remember any illegal immigrants’ rights rally. They’re practically all the same. Think of the anti-Americanism, the extremism, the violence, and the reconquista attitude that permeates the movement. Remember that, and you’ll understand why Arizona was forced to act… and why several other states are thinking of following suit.

Cross-posted at The Green Room.