http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1001997.html

Immigration rally held at state Capitol

ALBANY, Feb. 13
By BILL LAMBDIN

The immigration debate sweeping the country came to Albany Tuesday as a large number of immigrants rallied at the state Capitol.

No one knows the exact number, but most estimates place millions of illegal, or undocumented, aliens in the United States. That means they're cut off from basic services citizens use on a daily basis.

They clean our hotel rooms, trim our lawns and build our houses. They also perform many other jobs in this country even though they haven't gone through the legal procedure to live and work here.

Eighteen buses were filled with people whose first language was Chinese or Spanish or French. Most were brought up here for this demonstration from their new homes in New York City.

They want better funding for English as a second language programs. They especially want a 2004 policy reversed so that immigration status won't prevent them from getting drivers licenses.

“We want them to be able to go to work, be able to have proper insurance in their cars, etcetera. And it's a good way for the government to know who's here and get a better count,” said Javier Valdes of the New York Immigrant Coalition.

Immigration status and its relationship to drivers licenses became much more of an issue after 9-11.

So far, despite rallies like this, there's no indication the Legislature wants to loosen restrictions that deny licenses to undocumented immigrants