Thousands rally at Capitol to protest House-passed immigration bill

Published: 2006-03-08

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Thousands of people, many of them Spanish-speaking immigrants, loudly voiced their displeasure about a House-passed immigration bill with a large rally outside the Capitol March 7. The bill would stiffen penalties for undocumented immigrants and their employers, and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles has said church and charitable organizations would be subject to prosecution if they aid immigrants. The Senate is considering its own versions of immigration legislation. Father Jose Hoyos, head of the Spanish apostolate for the Diocese of Arlington, Va., drew sustained cheers from the crowd when, at an interfaith prayer service that was part of the rally, he said, "I want to pray for all the representatives and the senators and the president of the United States, because they have become atheists -- because if they were Christians they would not pass this kind of law." The bill, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., passed the House Dec. 16 by a vote of 239-182.

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