MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Massive march to protest US migratory reform

Over 200.000 people congregated in downtown Los Angeles Friday to request an amnesty for illegal immigrants and to protest the “racism” of a migratory reform currently under consideration by the United States Congress.

Dozens of pro-immigrants organizations particularly from the southern California Hispanic community converged to protest a reform that will have lasting effects for millions of Latinamerican workers in United States.

"At least 200.000 people are in the demonstration", estimated a Los Angeles Police officer. "We must stop the approval o an anti-immigrant reform and demand a human and fair migratory reform with no racism involved", said Javier Rodriguez, spokesperson for Coalition March 25th which organized the "the largest Hispanic protest march ever in the history of this country".

The interesting fact it that the protest not only includes "Hispanic groups but organizations from all the walks of life: farmers, religious, workers and students", said Andres Jimenez head of the Public Policies Research Centre from the University of California.

The fact that "young people left spontaneously their schools in Los Angeles to join the march means the bill, tremendously restrictive for immigrants, has become a future preoccupation for millions of immigrants who feel rejected by legislation which mainly appeals to policing against them".

President George Bush joined the national debate on the controversial legislation arguing in his regular Saturday radio address that "America is a nation of immigrants, and we're also a nation of laws. And our immigration laws are in need of reform".

The debate, described by Bush as "emotional" has not only set off protests among immigrants but has also caused major rifts among politicians, including Republicans. Bush insists that the guest-worker program his administration promotes is designed to relieve pressure along the Mexican border.

"Comprehensive immigration reform requires a temporary worker program that will relieve pressure on our borders. This program would create a legal way to match willing foreign workers with willing American employers to fill jobs that Americans will not do" he said.

Bush added that "as we debate the immigration issue, we must remember there are hard-working individuals ... who are contributing to the economic vitality of our country."

The controversial bill is sponsored by Republican James Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin) and was passed in Lower House last December. Senate will address the issue Monday. The bill supported by hawkish Republicans calls for building hundreds of miles of additional barriers along the United States' southern border and would make entering the United States a criminal offence, meaning that undocumented migrants could face jail terms in addition to deportation. Contracting illegal immigrants would also be considered a crime.

Mexico, the country most affected by whatever reforms Washington approves, is not in favour of some of the measures under consideration, although it does agree with the U.S. on the need to strengthen border security.

The topic was addressed Friday by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez in the U.S.-Mexico Bi-national Committee and will also be discussed at the tripartite meeting of Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at Cancun next week.

An estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants live and work in United States.