Sonoma County demonstrations

In one of the largest protests in years in Santa Rosa, several thousand people marched Sunday against a proposed federal law that would make it a felony for anyone to illegally enter the country.

The three-hour demonstration, which began in south Santa Rosa, culminated with a rally in downtown's Old Courthouse Square, where police closed off surrounding streets as the crowd spilled into the roads. Police reported no significant problems.

Roberto Garcia, an organizer for the march's sponsor, the United Farm Workers union, estimated 5,000 immigrants, their children, grandchildren and supporters packed the square in the UFW's largest turnout ever in Sonoma County.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. John Noland put the number at 3,700.

The rally coincided with late UFW founder Cesar Chavez's birthday -- March 31 -- and this week's Senate showdown over competing legislation to control U.S. borders and 12 million people who live here illegally.

"My people come here for a fair reason," said Claudia Rodriguez, 16, a Montgomery High School sophomore whose parents, born in Latin America, work as a housecleaner and carpenter. "And I feel like the government is holding us back from our ambitions."

She and a cousin carried El Salvador's flag as they paraded among drummers, Aztec dancers, flag wavers and parents pushing strollers up Santa Rosa Avenue.

Although undocumented workers serve a vital role in the U.S. economy, "many people are denied green cards and visas" and risk deportation, Rodriguez said. "When you try to do it legally, it doesn't work."

Sunday's march capped a weekend of rallies across the country that attracted hundreds of thousands of people. A protest Saturday in Los Angeles drew an estimated 500,000 alone.

The rallies protested proposals for strict immigration controls, including a bill passed by the House in December that calls for a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border, an electronic employee verification system and tougher anti-smuggling penalties as well as making it a felony to immigrate illegally or to help someone who has.

With America's immigrant population growing at 500,000 a year, the bill's sponsor, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and other legislators have argued against amnesty for illegal immigrants and have urged stronger border security.

"Illegal immigration is an expensive problem for law-abiding citizens," Sensenbrenner said in a statement Thursday, citing rising costs for police protection, schools and health care that legal immigrants and other taxpayers shoulder. "It puts undue pressure on people to pay even more in taxes to pay for those who are here."

Many North Coast religious and charitable groups have vowed to defy the bill if it passes the Senate and becomes law, arguing it would criminalize feeding, housing and aiding illegal immigrants.

The bill "is atrocious," said the UFW's secretary-treasurer, Tanis Ybarra, who marched Sunday in Santa Rosa. "It's just stomping on workers' rights."

Instead, Ybarra favors a proposal by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would let undocumented workers apply for residency, once they've paid fines and proven their employment.

Candidates would wait for citizenship behind other green card seekers who've applied legally.

"There has to be a path to citizenship for the people who are here now," Ybarra said. "They're not taking jobs away from Americans; these are jobs Americans don't want."

Maricella Rodriguez of Sebastopol, a native of Michoacán, Mexico, brought her 10-year-old and baby daughters to the march.

"I hope for justicia (justice) for my people," she said, as a beating drum, UFW chants and honking car horns nearly drowned her out. "We are not criminals; we are workers, hard workers."

Mexican immigrant Cosmé Puga, a Santa Rosa baker, also brought his kids.

"We are not terrorists," he said.

One 25-year-old demonstrator, roofer Arturo Gonzalez of Napa, held a sign painted in the UFW's trademark red and black that declared, "We feed you!"

The protest began at the UFW offices on Corby Avenue, and as the crowd marched to downtown hundreds of more people joined in.

"A little spontaneous parade broke out after they reached the square, and that caused some traffic disruptions," Police Sgt. Nick Sensley said. "We had to scramble to get about a dozen extra officers there to get it under control."

During the rally, protesters waving flags and banners stood on the median in front of the square and others overflowed into the streets. With cars slowly snaking by, many with horns blowing, police decided to close off the roads for the safety of marchers and motorists. Three CHP officers helped police.

Other than the slow traffic and overflowing crowd, police reported no trouble.

"It's sort of like peaceful chaos," Sensley said.

But some observers criticized demonstrators' methods.

"It's illegal to block the flow of traffic," said Ed Corn, a self-employed Santa Rosa gardener who said undocumented workers undercut his business.

"They pay 7 percent sales tax, but they don't pay state and federal income taxes," Corn added. "I want an equal footing in the law for both cultures."

The protest was among the biggest in years in Santa Rosa, surpassing anti-Iraq war demonstrations that drew 3,500 people in 1991 and 3,000 in 2002.

News Researcher Teresa Meikle contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Katy Hillenmeyer at 521-5274 or khillenmeyer@pressdemocrat.com.