http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spe ... 14086.html

April 24, 2006, 1:58AM


With each new conference, rally, interest seems to grow
Immigration reform workshop draws 200 youths, among them 3 Houstonians
By ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

PHOENIX - If the 200 cheering and chanting youths gathered for a leadership training conference this past weekend are any indication, the passion about the immigration debate isn't ending anytime soon.

"How many people are angry about what has been happening to immigrants across the country, raise your hand," said Tommy Espinoza, a Phoenix business owner who spoke at the event.

Every person shot a hand into the air.

Five young people from Texas, including three from Houston, were among those at the two-day conference, which ended Sunday.

The Texas students passed out information on immigration reform and touted the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, which would make undocumented students eligible for federal loans and work-study programs.

"This is what we do. This is what we are thinking about all the time," said Donajih Robles, a 24-year-old graduate of the University of Houston. "We never get tired."

Besides looking for ways to promote the DREAM Act, Robles and the others in Phoenix prepared for the next stages of their fight, which include a May 1 national boycott, in which illegal immigrants and their supporters vow not to work, go to school or buy anything.

Other street protests and rallies are also in the works.

But organizers of the Phoenix event told participants that if they are going to be successful, they've got to become politically active.

Already, there are signs of a surge of interest in citizenship, said Bill Strassberger, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"Historically we've seen an increase in the number of persons applying to be naturalized anytime immigration reform is being discussed nationally," Strassberger said. "We saw it in the 1990s, and we are seeing it now."

In January, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security received 53,390 applications for naturalization, up 23 percent compared with the same month last year. In February, the number jumped to 57,056.

Citizenship and Immigration Services office also had a record number of visits to its Web site in March, Strassberger said.

Antonia Rivera, a participant from Southern California, said she felt a need to get more involved as the immigration debate intensified.

"You just feel threatened, so you try to do something about it," said Rivera, the child of immigrants. "You feel personally attacked."

The Phoenix event was the third of five regional youth training sessions organized by the Center for Community Change, a Washington, D.C. group that helped lead immigrant rights protests across the country April 10. Other workshops have been held in Chicago and New Jersey, and two are scheduled for Nashville and Portland next month.

"I think it's going really well," said Rich Stolz, the center's immigration team leader. "I have been impressed by the level of passion in their voices. These are some of the strongest young people involved in immigration rights organizing in the country."

About 500 young people have taken part in the workshops so far, Stolz said.

zeke.minaya@chron.com