Thursday, February 19, 2004

Cleanup on aisle 7!

Aliens rally against bills to crack down on illegals
ANNAPOLIS — About 100 immigrants and illegal aliens arrived at the State House yesterday to oppose six bills designed to crack down on illegal immigrants, including one that will allow police officers to take them off the street without cause.

"I am totally illegal," said Zayd Torres, a Venezuelan living in Montgomery County.

Mr. Torres, 25, said he came to Annapolis after talking with officials at CASA of Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group, while looking for work.

"And I came because I thought that l personally was affected by these proposals," said Mr. Torres, who ate pizza provided by the group but remained outside the State House to avoid a possible identification check by police.

Mr. Torres said he also made phone calls for the advocacy group to garner community support for the protest and was among those who arrived in a caravan of cars and four vans provided by the group.
He'll probably vote in the next election too. And he was just one of the group.