By Tim Eaton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 8:11 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011
Published: 8:07 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011
People from all over the state converged on the Capitol on Tuesday to protest several immigration-related bills.
Organizers from the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance said that about 3,000 people of varying ages marched on the streets to the Capitol, and several hundred of them stuck around for a rally and to visit legislators.
Javier Parra said he was part of group of 400 people from McAllen who came to try to persuade members of the Legislature not to back some 60 immigration bills that he said are anti-immigrant, anti-family and anti-law enforcement.
Particularly, Parra said, he is opposed to a bill that would establish a law in Texas like the one in Arizona that allows police to detain or question anyone who they think is in the country illegally.
"We bring the message of our people to the legislators," said Parra, who came with the labor rights group LUPE, or La Unión del Pueblo Entero. "Texas needs to be a leader, not a follower."
Parra and other protesters said they also were outraged by pieces of legislation such as one that would require school officials to report undocumented students and one that would deny birth certificates to children born in Texas to undocumented parents...more
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