Anti-illegal immigration rally attracts 100-plus to Miss. Capitol


Associated Press - February 12, 2008 4:24 PM ET

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Civil-rights advocates and illegal-immigration opponents crossed paths at the Mississippi Capitol today (Tuesday) attempting to get their diverse messages before lawmakers.

More than 100 people attended an anti-immigration rally organized by conservative radio hosts J.T. and Dave from Supertalk Mississippi.

Dozens attending the rally wore big yellow lapel stickers with the slogan "Stop Illegals."

NAACP president Derrick Johnson shook his head as the illegal-immigration protesters walked by. Johnson told a reporter that 40 years ago those stickers would have been directed at blacks and would have used a racial slur directed at black people.

Several of those wearing the anti-immigration stickers said they were at the Capitol because they're worried about the security of the country.

They want Speaker Billy McCoy to push House committee chairmen to bring several bills up for debate.

1 of the bills that already has cleared the Senate would require companies receiving government contracts to check the immigration status of their employees.

Johnson says the people wearing the "Stop Illegals" stickers should push lawmakers to improve public education and Medicaid, to protect home buyers from predatory lending practices and to provide earned-income tax credits for working families.


The bill is Senate Bill 2037.

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