Immigrants, citizens marched in unprecedented numbers in 2006 - Some say collaborations on protests offer lessons for resolving conflicts. - Austin

As the Hispanic presence in the Austin metro area has grown dramatically, so have tensions between Mexican American citizens and illegal immigrants. But they have also collaborated successfully, as shown by the protest marches and the immigrant advocacy of venerable Mexican American civil rights organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens.

In those alliances, some say, lie the lessons for resolving conflicts.

“When we’re working together is when we start understanding each other,” said Maria Luisa Bautista, a Mexican citizen and legal U.S. resident who counsels immigrants about their rights and responsibilities through the group she helped found in Austin, Inmigrantes Latinos en Acción (Latino Immigrants in Action).

However, Bautista acknowledges that even then, the groups can clash: “It’s the cultures. It’s not that one side or the other is to blame.”"*

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