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Thousands protest immigration bill


By Daniel Gilbert
dgilbert@manassasjm.com
Wednesday, March 8, 2006

With the Senate poised to craft an immigration bill, thousands of area residents descended on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to protest legislation that would turn illegal immigration from a civil infraction to a criminal offense.

The protest - involving scores of buses bringing residents from Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Delaware - was organized by Service Employees International Union.

"This is unjust," said Javier Aguilar, a native of Honduras and a resident of Dale City. "I could be giving someone a ride, and be prosecuted as a criminal."

If the alien smuggling provision of the bill in question - HR4437, passed by the House of Representatives in December - becomes law, Aguilar, SEIU and anyone who transported or assisted an illegal immigrant, could face criminal charges.

Under section 202 of HR4437, "whoever transports or moves a person in the United States," or "whoever assists, encourages, directs or induces" an illegal alien to remain in the United States, knowing their illegal status, may be imprisoned for up to five years and fined.

If a person acts for commercial gain, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

The expanded definition of smuggling has social workers, doctors and religious leaders worrying about serving jail time.

"It must be a bad law when my civic duty contradicts my professional duty," said Leonel Flores, a physician in Washington, D.C.

Estuardo Herarte, a resident of Alexandria and a legal immigrant from Guatemala, brought his wife and three young children to the protest because he felt HR4437 goes too far.

"They're talking about deporting people. When you go to the doctor, you couldn't receive medical assistance. That is too much," he said.

At a press conference before the rally, the Rev. David Rocha, a pastor at a United Methodist Church, promised civil disobedience if the definition of smuggling under HR4437 became law.

"We will civilly disobey by continuing to administer, serve and be active among those who need us," said Rocha, who wore a button saying "I am a priest, not a criminal."

No slogan was more visible at the rally than the banners and T-shirts stating "I am not a criminal," including T-shirts worn by a group of more than 50 immigrant children who sat on the Capitol's concrete steps.

Criminalizing the children, according to Casa Maryland director Gustavo Torres, is the most egregious implication of HR4437.

"It's bad enough that we and the clergy could face criminal charges. But the worst part is the fate of those kids," he said.

On the other side of the debate, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, one of the main proponents of HR4437, found the demonstration ironic.

"There's some irony to thousands of illegal aliens protesting in front of the chamber that creates law in the first place," Tancredo said in a statement. "If anything, the protesters should remind Congress of how poorly our laws are being enforced, and how much we should step up enforcement."