POSTED ON Saturday, November 14, 2009 AT 04:38PM
Group holds rally to protest amnesty for illegal immigrants
Ross A. Courtney
Yakima Herald-Republic

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Stop the Invasion," and applauding to exhortations such as "take back our country," opponents of amnesty for illegal immigrants gathered today at a Grange hall in Yakima.

About 65 people attended the event, dubbed "Tea Party Against Amnesty and Illegal Immigration," at the Gardner Grange to hear a former U.S. Border Patrol agent speak and to write quick letters to government officials.

"We can deal with it (illegal immigration)," Kent Lundgren, founder and past chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, told the audience.

The event was one of 53 similar rallies held across the country Saturday to speak out against immigration reforms proposed by President Obama's administration. The suggestions include a form of amnesty for undocumented immigrants already living in the United States, as well as a promise for tougher enforcement and a streamlined system for legal immigration.

The attendees, some who came from Seattle and Prosser, shared coffee and homemade cookies with a backdrop of patriotic music, including "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash, coming from speakers hooked to a laptop. Afterward, about 10 or so waved flags and protest signs on the corner of Summitview and 40th avenues.

-- Ross Courtney

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