Speakers say immigrants don't get fair shake

Holly Yettick, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 24, 2005 at midnight

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"Immigrant bashers" got bashed Monday afternoon at a rush hour rally in support of immigration reform.

The event attracted about 100 people to the corner of Broadway and Colfax.

"Our current immigration system does not work for anybody," said Mitch Ackerman, president of Local 105 of the Service Employees International Union and a speaker at the rally.

"The popularity of this immigrant bashing has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with economic security," Ackerman said. "We should not attack immigrants who work, work hard and raise their families in the U.S."

Speakers at the event denounced "Real ID," which they said makes it virtually impossible for an undocumented immigrant to get a driver's license.

The program, which backers say increases national security, requires four forms of ID to be checked against a federal database.

A comprehensive immigration reform bill has been introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

The proposal would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for work permits good for six years.

They would have to clear criminal background checks, pass a language test and pay $2,000.

Permit holders and their families could apply for permanent residency after six years and for citizenship five years later.

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