Special report: US immigration reform

    NEW YORK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Several thousand New Yorkers took to the street in midtown Manhattan on Saturday afternoon to show their support for immigrant rights just days before the U.S. Senate votes for the immigration bill next week.

    The week between May 14 and 20 has been designated as a week for nationwide action for immigration rights, and Saturday's marchis just the latest in a series of events which have taken place nationwide over the past few months, according to New York Immigration Coalition, one of the organizers of Saturday's march.

    The coalition said it launched the march on the last day of the week just to send a strong signal to the Bush Administration and the Senate that immigrants want changes in immigration laws and are against the immigration bill up for a vote in the Senate next week. It argued that the proposed Guest Worker program is in fact just an effort to find immigrants and deport them.

    It also asked for an end to raids against illegal immigrants and treating community activists who helped illegal immigrants as criminals.

    The coalition urged the Congress to offer immigrants, both legal and illegal, access to U.S. citizenship, and enable them to reunite with their families.

    Several Asian immigrant groups joined the march to make their voice heard by the Congress. Enditem