Immigration rallies sweep through US cities

Thousands of protesters rally for Immigration reform on the Washington Mall. Picture / Reuters

WASHINGTON - Tens of thousands of people marched through US cities on Monday, waving American flags and banging drums to demand dignity and rights for millions of illegal immigrants.

A wave of protests, which some have compared to the 1960s civil rights movement, has been stirred by legislation that would turn illegal immigrants into felons, fence off the US border with Mexico and punish groups like churches that help undocumented workers.

"Last time I read the Bible, there was no requirement to be checking passports," complained Carol Vega, who came from Puerto Rico, joining thousands of others marching through Washington to gather near the Congress building.

Many wore white T-shirts symbolizing peaceful protest and held banners declaring: "We are America."

"We come over here and break our backs and still they discriminate against us and label us as nobodies," said Diana Delcid, whose parents came from El Salvador.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy likened the recent protests that have swept the country to the drive for civil rights by black Americans a half century ago.

"Dr Martin Luther King Jr. called on the nation to let freedom ring," Kennedy told the Washington rally.

"It is time for Americans to lift their voices once again -- this time in pride for our immigrant past and in support of our immigrant future.

The Senate last week reached an impasse on a compromise plan that would open the way to citizenship for most illegal immigrants but could take the issue up again when it returns after a two-week break. The House of Representatives has already passed a much harsher bill focusing on tightening the border with Mexico and cracking down on illegal immigrants.

Immigrant rights groups in the Washington area provided buses to bring in thousands of protesters, including day laborers whom Americans have increasingly come to rely on for sweeping their lawns and fixing their houses.

Organizers said they expected rallies in more than 60 cities on Monday, including New York and Los Angeles.

In Atlanta, police said 40,000 people flooded the streets. In Phoenix, more than 50,000 turned out. In Houston, thousands marched to the chant of "USA, USA, USA." In Nebraska, about 8,000 marched peacefully through downtown Omaha.

"We came together for one cause, to ask for laws that give the immigrants dignity," said Paula Delgado, a 14-year-old middle school student who was born in Mexico but has lived in Georgia since age 6.

"Not all Hispanics come here to be criminals."

There are 11.5 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, according to an estimate by the Pew Hispanic Center.

"I think (House) Republicans touched a very raw nerve," Kennedy said in an interview with Reuters before he spoke at the Washington rally. "It (the bill) touched the heart and soul of so many of these individuals ... enhancing their sense of fear and uncertainty."

The protests were greeted with dismay by critics who said the US government should not encourage "a culture where America's laws are optional."

"They are demanding that they be given rights US citizens have when their first act was to break the law by coming into this country illegally," said Susan Wysoki, spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Houston television reported that flyers had been distributed in the industrial suburb of Pasadena urging people to burn down the homes of illegal immigrants.

- REUTERS