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U.S. House Immigration Bill May Draw 2 Mln in Rallies (Update1)
April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Two million people are expected to attend one of 136 rallies tomorrow to show support for the U.S. Hispanic community, which is protesting an immigration reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, organizers said.

The demonstrations, which started today in Dallas-Fort Worth with an estimated 100,000 gathered, will culminate Monday in ``The National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice.'' The largest rallies are expected in New York and Washington, and 20 events are scheduled in California alone.

``We just want to show our power,'' said Juan Carlos Ruiz, general coordinator for the National Capital Immigration Coalition, in a phone interview from Washington. ``Latinos are known for being late and they say we cannot work together. We needed to show Congress we could organize ourselves.''

The coalition, representing immigrant, labor, faith, civil rights and business groups, opposes House Bill 4437 that focuses on border security and backs the construction of 700 miles of border fencing, without making provisions for guest workers or undocumented immigrants.

``Our goal is to stop anti-immigrant legislation from becoming law and to pass real comprehensive immigration reform that provides a clear path to citizenship, unites families and ensures workplace and civil rights protections for all,'' the coalition said on its Web site.

Secure Borders

House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said on ABC's ``This Week'' that he wants to secure the borders and enforce the laws.

``Until we do that, all you're doing is inviting more illegal immigration,'' he said.

Congress recessed for a two-week holiday break before considering a Senate compromise to provide a guest-worker program by creating 325,000 visas for unskilled workers. It also proposed procedures for undocumented immigrants in the country for more than two years to gain legal status and eventual citizenship.

The guest-worker proposal would create ``an incentive for more illegal immigrants to come into the country,'' Republican Representative Peter King, whose New York office will be a stop during tomorrow's protest, said on ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``The outcry in the country is about the large number of illegal immigrants, and what the Senate has done to get around that problem is to, in effect, make them legal.''

Tough Sledding

Any Senate bill that promotes amnesty will have ``a tough time sledding'' in the House, Representative Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, said in an interview on CBS's ``Face the Nation.'' He has been leading the fight for the imposition of stiffer penalties on illegal immigrants.

The rallies originally were scheduled in 10 cities for tomorrow. As word spread, new events were added, Ruiz said.

``We are not calling for boycotts or any other actions,'' said Ruiz, a native of Peru who said he has political asylum in the U.S. ``Right now, it's enough that people come to rally and show they are disappointed in Congress about the House bill.''

Rally organizers in Dallas are calling for a ``Not a Penny'' boycott of businesses, according to the Web site. Rally representative Jesse Diaz didn't return calls.

A crowd estimated at 100,000 marched through Dallas to City Hall, said police spokesman Sonya Nicholson. Marchers carried an American flag that spanned the width of the street as well as individual U.S. flags and those from demonstrators' homelands.

King said the Senate was ``intimidated by having hundreds of thousands of people in the streets waving flags. But I don't think we should pass legislation or devise legislation based on how many people you can get out into the street.''

National Coalition

The national coalition is encouraging workers to attend the rallies, although Ruiz said, ``We expect them to ask for permission.''

Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat processor, and Overstock.com, a seller of excess brand-name merchandise, said employees must get permission for personal time off if they want to attend the demonstrations during working hours.

``As always, approvals have been granted on a first-come- first-serve basis, and we accommodate as many requests as we possibly can without jeopardizing operations,'' Overstock.com said in a release.

Tyson, meanwhile, said some of its plants will be closed tomorrow because of a combination of factors, including the rallies and market conditions, according to company spokesman Gary Mickelson.

Necessary to Economy

Immigrant workers are ``necessary to the economic well-being of our country,'' said Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, in an appearance on NBC's ``Meet the Press.'' ``I agree enforcement is key and security is key. But let's do it comprehensively.''

In Washington, 200,000 are expected to gather at the Washington Monument at 4 p.m., said Ruiz, adding 600 taxis will be taken off the D.C. streets and parked at the rally.

In New York City, organizers plan three marches ending at a rally in City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

``They have the permit for City Hall, they don't have a permit for any marches,'' said Detective John Sweeney, a police spokesman, adding a ``large crowd'' was expected at the rally. The city had no specific estimates. Voice messages left Sunday for New York City organizers listed on the April10.org Web site were not immediately returned.

Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said he would probably respond to questions about the planned event during a question and answer session with reporters late Monday morning.

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.



To contact the reporters on this story:
Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net;
Josh P. Hamilton in New York at jphamilton@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 9, 2006 15:26 EDT