Grand Rapids - Thousands of protesters waving American and Mexican flags marched through Grand Rapids' streets to protest federal immigration legislation.
The bills would make it a felony to be an undocumented immigrant.
They marched from Garfield Park to Calder Plaza to show their opposition to the legislation.
As the march moved toward Calder Plaza the crowd swelled to an estimated 7 to 10-thousand strong.
They say they're in America for a better life, a future for their children, and are working jobs no one else wants. Gladys Martinez attended the rally, "There is a lot of immigrants working in the field, picking up apples, picking up oranges, picking up blueberries, they are the ones doing the job no one else is willing to do it."
The legislation passed by the U.S. House makes it a felony to enter the U.S. illegally or help those already here. Jesse Allen and her friends came down today to show their support for protestors, "Our country was built on immigrants, my family was all immigrants, and I think they should be allowed to be here." Micah Bruxvoort agrees, and opposes House Bill 4437, "I think this solution to put people in jail is going to make things worse. It's not a solution."
Gladys Martinez doesn't have the solution, but she says the immigrants coming here are not criminals and they're not terrorists, ?It first started with September 11th 2001, but we never put bombs on the United States, so the reason they're making it peaceful so they know we're not pro-crime people."
According to the 2000 Census, Hispanics make up a little more than 13% of Grand Rapids, but experts say that number has grown since then and expect Latinos will replace African Americans as the largest minority group in Grand Rapids.
Wire Services Contributed to this Report
Keith BaldiIn your voice
