Immigration backers rally near State House

Carolyn Hileman - The Voice* | February 26, 2008  |

Chanting “Yes, we can!” in English, Spanish and French, a crowd of mostly Hispanic men and women gathered near Maryland’s State House tonight in hopes of stemming what they say is a growing backlash in the legislature over illegal immigration.

Participants in the rally, held on the eve of another round of General Assembly hearings on immigration bills, lighted several hundred candles and cheered local legislators and advocates and national civil rights leaders. Most of the measures seek to curb or cut off benefits to those who cannot prove they are in the United States legally.

“I think it’s pretty sad that a country that has been built by immigrants now looks at immigrants today as something bad for this country. I think it’s a double standard,” said Angelo Solera, 45, a Baltimore resident from Spain who was once an illegal immigrant but now is a U.S. citizen. “Most of us are in this country working and paying taxes and making a contribution to this country.”

The Maryland Minuteman Civil Defense Corps asked the federal agency that polices immigration to send representatives to the rally to check whether the participants — who were bused to the capital from all over the state — could prove their legal status.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said agents would not at tend the rally, adding: “We don’t work that way.”

Some legislators decried the rally.

“This is the lawmakers for lawbreakers rally,” said Del. Patrick L. McDonough, a Baltimore County and Harford County Republican. “Essentially, they are supporting legislation that aids and abets illegal aliens.”

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