Tens of thousands protest anti-immigration legislation in Washington DC
Nearly 40,000 immigrants and supporters took to the streets of Washington DC on Tuesday to protest House Resolution 4437 and to demand amnesty for undocumented immigrants. The bill sponsored by Rep. Sensenbrenner (R-WI) was passed in the House of Representatives in December and would make it a felony to live in the US without legal documents, criminalize the act of hiring or aiding undocumented immigrants, and mandate the construction of a giant wall across a third of the US-Mexican border. The Senate has just begun debate on immigration legislation and is likely to vote on a different bill later this year. Salvadoran-Americans make up the largest Latino community in the DC metropolitan area, and many participated in the protest on Tuesday. Said Gustavo Torres, the executive director of the immigrant rights group Casa de Maryland, "if they don't pay attention to us now the next step is civil disobedience".
"I am a CISPES supporter because continuing to fight for social justice and a more people-centered country means continuing the dream and sacrifice of thousands of my fellow Salvadorans who died for that vision.” - Padre Carlos, New York City
