DREAM Act Portal Forum - [THE DREAM ACT] Thousands march for immigrants' rights

Title: Thousands march for immigrants' rights
Author: Mike Zientek
Publisher: KHOU-TV
Date Published: March 26, 2006

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Thousands march for immigrants' rights
by Mike Zientek

Immigrant rights activists marched through Houston by the thousands Saturday.

They were protesting proposed legislation that would make it a felony to be in the country illegally.

The scene was repeated across Texas and the nation as the U.S. Senate debates immigration reform, which could also create a guest worker program, allowing millions of illegal immigrants to get immediate status.

The huge crowd moved as one down Main Street on the north side.

Many held signs supporting what’s called the “Dream Act.”

It’s a proposal in the U.S. Congress that would give undocumented high school students nationwide the chance to go to college and become citizens.

“You think it’s supposed to be a country of equality and everything that goes along with the Constitution, but you see how badly these people may be treated just because they’re not citizens,” University of Houston student Lourdes Aguinaco said.
The demonstrators were motivated by a House bill that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.

House Bill 4437 would also make it a crime to provide assistance to an illegal immigrant.

“What does that say? So I’m gonna have to go around asking people their status before I can help them?” said teacher Andre Rodriguez. “That’s just ridiculous.”

Some of those who came out Saturday were members of an older generation who said they want to fight to make things better for young people coming behind them

Elvira Flores showed up with her grandchildren.

She supports one idea in the senate that would make it relatively easy for workers illegally in the United States to become permanent citizens.

“We don’t come here to steal. We don’t come here to take anything from anyone,” she said in Spanish. “We come to work.”

“It would be fundamentally unfair for those who have played by the rules who have immigrated legally to allow these folks to break in line,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said.

Sen. Cornyn has a plan that would allow undocumented workers to work a maximum of six years before having to return home.

“We need to have a good legal system of immigration, and we need to discourage illegal immigration,” Sen. Cornyn said. “And that’s really what this is all about.”

The Houston march eventually ended, but the immigration debate is far from over.

According to the Pew Research Center, 5 percent of the U.S. workforce is made up of undocumented workers. Most hold low-paying jobs that many employers say they could not otherwise fill.

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