Utah Latinos plan to march to state Capitol

By MarÃ*a Villaseñor

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 03/06/2010 07:23:52 PM MST

Utah Latinos plan to rally March 21 to coincide with a plan by activists across the nation to descend on Washington D.C. to urge federal action on immigration reform.

Several area Latino groups met Saturday at Centro Civico Mexicano to measure support for the march, after learning of the national effort. They agreed to begin at noon March 21 and march from the Salt Lake City & County Building to the state Capitol.

"We need to show Utah also demands to be part of immigration reform," said Raul Lopez-Varga, of the Utah Mexican Club Federation, who led the event along with Proyecto Latino Director Tony Yapias.

The nearly 250 people who attended the Saturday meeting want Utah to be part of national efforts to call for reform through marches set for March 21 and May 1. Many have memories of the May 2006 rally for immigration reform in which thousands descended on downtown Salt Lake City.

Participants of the meeting agreed to name their movement to mobilize "Utahns for Immigration Reform Coalition."

Saturday's meeting was broadcast on AM 1550 radio. Although the broadcast was in Spanish, participants urged other immigrant communities to get involved. Britons, Canadians, Koreans and others want change, too, said Epifanio Arciniega of Taylorsville, "It's not just Hispanics who are illegal."

As with the march four years ago, people are encouraged to wear white, carry the American flag and hold signs in English. And many took the (this is how the article ended)

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