MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latinamerica lobbies against US migration bill

The “March for Migrants” arrived Wednesday in Washington to lobby for the defeat of pending legislation that will allow the construction of a double fence along the US/Mexico border in an attempt to stem the flow of illegal Latinamerican immigration to the US.

Wisconsin Republican James Sensenbrenner, the main sponsor of the bill, also wants to criminalize the activity of U.S. groups and individuals who assist illegal immigrants, including those who offer them food, water or first aid.

The march actually took off just a few yards away from the current border fence in San Diego. Members of the Gente Unida (People United) coalition also displayed wooden crosses bearing the names of migrants who died while trying to slip across the border into the United States.

Morones, a veteran Mexican-American activist from San Diego, said that the purpose of the march is "to tell people that over 4.000 deaths along the border - people who came to look for work - is not an insignificant number, it's not a fact that is forgotten, buried with a new immigration initiative."

Senators in Washington must know and understand the realities of the border before they vote on Sensenbrenner's bill, added Morones.

The march made stops in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, and on their return to the West Coast plan to call at Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico.

Clergy, human rights organizations and friends of the activists have provided lodging to members of the caravan, who have taken part in meetings and public events on the way to Washington.

Organizers began the march last February 2, the anniversary of the signing of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, under which Mexico ceded more than half of its then-territory to the United States after nearly two years of war.

Earlier in the week officials from eleven Latin American countries met in Colombia to coordinate lobbying against the tougher US immigration bill. The 11 countries meeting in the seaside resort city of Cartagena were Mexico, the Central American nations, plus Colombia, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Officials decided to send a mission to Washington next week to identify key US lawmakers on the immigration debate, reported El Salvador Foreign Minister Francisco Lainez.

Latin American governments will urge US legislators to change or defeat the bill that has already been passed by the US House of Representatives. The lobbying campaign will use all diplomatic channels, as well as churches, charities and chambers of commerce, officials said.

President George W Bush has stressed that "border security must adapt to the nation's changing needs". But Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister Carolina Barco said it was essential for Americans to understand how much Hispanic workers contribute to the economy. The US bill also covers the use of troops and police to halt migrants, and tighter employment controls.

An estimated 1.500 Latinamericans, mostly Mexicans cross to the US illegally every day, according to US migration sources.