http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_3474669

Article Last Updated: 2/03/2006 10:23 PM


Migrant supporters make stop at campus

Caroline An, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

RIVERSIDE - Immigrant advocates stopped Friday at UC Riverside on the road to Washington, where they will meet with leaders to lobby against the Border Security Act.
Gente Unida, a coalition of 65 human rights organizations in the United States and Mexico, is holding rallies in 35 cities, including Riverside, San Francisco, Phoenix and Houston, to drum up support for their cause.

The coalition opposes the border act, approved by the House of Representatives. The bill includes funding for increased security at the borders, makes undocumented-immigration status a felony and lengthens the sentences for alien smuggling and other related crimes.

Friday's rally included a memorial to the people who have died trying to enter the United States. The coalition will set up 4,000 wooden crosses on their way to Washington.

For the nearly 100 students at the rally, it was an opportunity to learn more about the Border Security Act and to show support for the coalition.

"I know a lot of people are dying," junior Yolanda Lopez said. "I know what the Minutemen are doing at the border, but I want to learn more about what the government is doing."