Posted Online: April 27, 2007; 2:13 p.m.

Q-C immigration march canceled; deportation fears cited


By Jenny Lee, jlee@qconline.com

An immigration rights march scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled because some people were afraid of getting deported.

The decision differs greatly from last May, when more than 3,000 Hispanic immigrants and their supporters marched from Rock Island to LeClaire Park in Davenport for the 'Day of Unity.' They and thousands more across the country protested against proposals to make illegally entering the United States a felony.

Federal agents have cracked down more and more on illegal immigrants in the past several months.

Reports of raids have left illegal immigrants fearful of being taken away from their families, Greg Aguilar, Day of Unity Committee chairman, said Friday. Out of an estimated 5,000 people, half of them were afraid to march and the other half weren't, he said.

Rather than divide the community, organizers chose not to have the march, he said.

Felipe Hernandez of East Moline, a naturalized U.S. citizen who participated in the march last year, said he understands why some people are too afraid to be in the march. They have a lot to lose, he said.

Many illegal immigrants didn't participate last year because of the fear of deportation, Mr. Hernandez said.

'We've already showed our numbers,' Mr. Aguilar said. 'Marching again isn't going to change people's minds.'

Local advocates are focusing on getting the DREAM Act passed in Congress, also known as the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, Mr. Aguilar said.

The DREAM Act would allow young illegal immigrants who have grown up in the United States to apply for legal status because they've shown they've been responsible. If they have graduated from high school and don't have an extensive criminal record, then they could apply for a permit to stay.

The Quad Cities Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees, Progressive Action for the Common Good and other groups are trying to establish phone trees where each person would notify five people and those five would each call more friends. The hope is to have these phone trees call local legislators to convince them to vote for immigration rights laws, Mr. Aguilar said.

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