http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ... -apnewyork

Hundreds rally in NYC for immigrant rights


October 21, 2006, 9:51 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) _ Hundreds of immigrants and activists marched through Manhattan to Times Square on Saturday to demand an end to the detention and deportation of people in the country illegally.

The rally, organized by dozens of pro-immigration groups, began in Manhattan's Union Square and culminated in a march up Sixth Avenue.

The procession was smaller than some of the huge rallies and marches for immigration policy reform held in the city last summer, but the protesters said their cause was no less urgent.

Congress has recently passed legislation authorizing the construction of a huge, multibillion dollar fence along the U.S.-Mexico borer and appropriated money for detention centers and an additional 1,500 border agents.

At the same time, other immigrant-friendly proposals stalled in Washington, including one that would give millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. a chance to become a citizen.

The marchers headed into Times Square on Saturday carrying signs reading "We are not criminals" and "Stop detentions."