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| Thousands rally in New York against
immigration law
change.(Xinhua) | NEW YORK,
April 1 (Xinhua) --Thousands of demonstrators marched Saturday in New York to
protest against proposed US immigration reforms currently under discussion in
the U.S. Congress.
Demonstrators began gathering in Cadman Plaza in
Brooklyn Saturday morning for what is dubbed by some people the "March for
Undocumented Immigrants."
Immigrants, mostly from Latin American countries and
others walked over the Brooklyn bridge to the local immigration office in lower
Manhattan for a rally.
Carrying posters that read "Legalization of
immigrants," "Say no to law HR4437," the demonstrators chanted in Spanish "We
can do it" and many waved their national flags. One demonstrator, with a poster
that read "No human being is illegal" said he is an undocumented immigrant and
he is afraid that the new immigration law might lead to his deportation.
It was the latest in a wave of protests across the
United States against the immigration reform bill that is pending debate in the
U.S. Senate.
The U.S. House of Representatives in December passed
a bill that would make illegal entry into the United States a crime and heavily
penalize employers of undocumented workers, opening the floodwaters of protest
in the Hispanic community, now the largest minority group in the United States.
President George W. Bush wants a guest worker program
that would allow immigrants to come to the United States for a certain period ,
and then have to go home. But the more conservative wing of his Republican Party
sees that as akin to an amnesty and rewarding those who have entered the country
illegally.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said deporting the illegal immigrants who are already living here is a bad idea, while arguing tighter border control should be put in place, whether through a physical wall, or through better tracking technology. Enditem [1] [2] [3] [4] |