2 arrested as immigration activists storm congressional offices
By ERICA WERNER09/12/07 13:24:34

An 8-year-old boy whose mother was deported to Mexico led a chanting crowd of about 150 pro-immigration activists through congressional offices Wednesday. Capitol police arrested two demonstrators for disorderly conduct.

Saul Arellano and other children carried a banner that read, "Born in the USA. Don't take our moms and dads away."

The boy's mother, Elvira Arellano, was deported last month after taking refuge in a Chicago church for a year.

Police tussled with demonstrators after they taped a letter to the door of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was in Oregon for a forum on global warming.

The crowd went to Pelosi's office after a news conference at House offices that was punctuated by chants of "Si, se puede," or "Yes, we can."

Saul Arellano, wearing baggy pants and looking distracted, joined other children at the front of the procession. He was followed by someone holding an icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe and two others holding large flags, one Mexican and one Puerto Rican. One child hesitated to board an escalator, creating a bottleneck.

The crowd chanted in support of Elvira Arellano, who was in the U.S. illegally for several years before taking sanctuary at Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church, where she lived with her son for a year in defiance of a deportation order.

She left the church last month to speak to other immigrants around the country and was arrested in Los Angeles by immigration authorities. They deported her to Tijuana, Mexico, where she has been promoting an overhaul to U.S. immigration laws.

Protesters left the building after police threatened more arrests.

http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/136880.html