Immigrant rights protest today

Immigrant rights advocates from the Puget Sound region will make their voices heard on Seattle's streets this afternoon as they protest federal legislation they say treats them like scapegoats.

Commuters and others in downtown Seattle will need to plan accordingly, authorities say.

"We expect it to be a significant demonstration in size," Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said.

The march, part of a "National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice," will start at St. Mary's Church, 611 20th Ave. S., at 3:30 p.m. and end at the downtown federal building at the intersection of Second Avenue and Marion Street.

Motorists and bus riders should change their routes to avoid traffic congestion from the protest, which is expected to end around 5 p.m.

Whitcomb declined to say how many people are expected at the march, which police believe will be peaceful. Seattle organizer Jorge Quiroga said up to 10,000 people could turn up to chant and wave placards, banners and flags.

Immigrants, he said, are upset and frustrated with pending legislation in the House and Senate.

Critics of those bills want a legal path for immigrants to work in the country, respect for civil rights and civil liberties and better family reunification measures.

"This is something that politicians are using for political gains," Quiroga, president of El Comite Pro Amnestia y Justicia Social, said, referring to the topic of illegal immigrants.

"They are scapegoating the immigrant population, that they are the problem, that they are draining the resources of the state. We are a people who pay taxes."

The recent debate over illegal immigrants, whose numbers are estimated to exceed 11 million, has been unfolding for weeks, with other groups calling for stricter border controls.

Members of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, a grass-roots organization, are watching U.S. borders in an attempt to stem the flow of illegal immigrants entering the country.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, D.C., also supports tighter controls, partly because it says undocumented individuals in the country lower wages.

"If we are ever going to successfully discourage people from coming illegally into the United States, it is essential that we adopt clear, firm messages that they will not be welcome and will not be able to benefit from illegal immigration," said Jack Martin, a FAIR spokesman.

But Quiroga said economic policies in countries, including Mexico and the United States, can cause ordinary people to lose work. That pushes them across borders to look for jobs to survive. "They have to go somewhere," he said.

Quiroga said Monday's protest is expected to eclipse the approximately 2,000 people who demonstrated in White Center last month in support of immigrants.

Protesters are expected to leave St. Mary's Church, go down South Jackson and eventually make their way to Fourth Avenue.

From there, they will head to the Madison Street area, Second Avenue and the downtown federal building.

Expected in the crowd today are members of the Service Employees International Union Local 775, which represents 28,000 long-term care and nursing workers in the state.

"We think it's important to make sure there are protections for all workers, certainly for undocumented workers," said Adam Glickman, a Local 775 spokesman.

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