HOUSTON—Thousands of Houstonians showed up to rally against Arizona’s new illegal immigration law and for immigration reform Saturday. One of the participants was Erika Avellaneda.
She’s a U.S. citizen, but she admitted that some of her family has been here illegally for years.
"They had kids 16 to 18 years old and they need the reform, they’re not legal here," she said.
That’s why Avellaneda marched with a group called Houston’s America for All. She said she wanted to make her voice louder, and the group wants the federal government to listen.
"The bottom line is we need comprehensive immigration reform. We don’t want what happened in Arizona to happen in Texas, in Houston," Cesar Esposito, one of the rally organizers, said.
Arizona’s controversial new law has pushed the immigration issue back into the headlines. But the issue divides Houstonians and brought opposition to the Saturday rally.
A man who asked to be called "Bama" was one of the counter-protesters. He is a member of a group called Minutemen of Texas.
"What you see on this side of the street is a collection of American citizens. We’re here to protest illegal invasion of our country," he said.
Supporters of the new law point out that officers are not supposed to stop someone based on race alone, which prevents racial profiling.
Another member of Minutemen, who goes by the name "Defender," weighed in on that issue.
"We have the law on our side and because we have the law on our side … they have to name-call and call it racist," he said.
But the roughly 7,000 marching in Houston’s May Day Immigration Parade believe the issue needs federal attention.
"We’re asking the Obama administration to take this as what it is, a federal issue. To fix the broken immigration system and pass reform now," said Esposito.
Avellaneda said all she wants is to keep her family in this country, but she’s worried that Texas might follow Arizona with a tough new law.
Earlier in the week, Gov. Rick Perry addressed the controversy.
"I fully recognize and support a state’s right and obligation to protect its citizens... but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas," he said.
