On April 10, there were about 125,000 immigrants who rallied at New York’s City Hall.

For hours crowds of immigrants filled Broadway and the side streets of Manhattan to full capacity. They walked in groups from Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn and Washington Square and Chinatown to rally against the proposed changes, which would make the immigration laws stricter and turn illegal immigrants into felons.

Those who gathered were also demanding legalization of their status. The protesters held U.S. and national flags and banners, which read: “We are America”, “Immigrant values are family values”, and “Legalize, don’t criminalize”.

Unfortunately there were not too many Poles among the thousands of Latinos, Asians and Europeans who came to stand up for their rights, yet a Polish flag waved right by the podium.

“We are here so that America can be stronger,” said Chung Wha Hong, the advocacy director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “Si se puede” (Yes we can) – immigrants chanted enthusiastically while watching speeches on huge monitors placed along Broadway.

The protesters, when asked about their personal thoughts, had many painful experiences to share. “Our mother came here from Colombia. She’s been working as a waitress for many years and still doesn’t have her papers,” 21-year-old Lady Buitrago of Queens told Nowy Dziennik “We were born here, but my mother still cannot visit family members who stayed in our home country.” Buitrago also thinks that life for immigrants in the United States is very difficult. “We do the jobs no one else wants to do and get paid almost nothing. The worst thing is that we are being treated like second-class citizens”.

Blanca from El-Salvador, 32, who requested her name not be published, shared similar thoughts: “I work long hours as a salesperson in a store. This is not an easy life. I give a lot to the country I consider my home, and what am I getting in return? I cannot even see my family.”

Among the crowds there were also New York students, union representatives, religious and peace groups. The members of the last group came to also demand a stop to the war on Iraq and that President Bush step down.

The Monday rally attracted many local politicians who openly supported the idea of regulating the status of illegal immigrants. “Politicians in Washington have a short memory. We have to remind them that they, too, have immigrant roots,” said Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. “They are wrong and we are right.” Velazquez, who wore an elegant skirt suit and sneakers, touched the hearts of immigrants with her emotional speech and the dance she performed on the podium to the sounds of “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones.

Congressmen Charles Rangel and Anthony Weiner appeared along with Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer. Two candidates for the 2006 Democratic nomination for governor of New York made an appearance as well -- Eliot Spitzer, attorney general for New York State and Thomas Suozzi, who currently serves as the county executive of Nassau County. Only Mayor Bloomberg was missing. However, Bloomberg has often expressed his opinion on the immigrant issues and spoken in support of the legalization of 11 million immigrants.

Many politicians made an effort to deliver a part of their speeches in Spanish, as the majority of those gathered were Latino.

“Your faces are the faces of America,” said Senator Hillary Clinton to those who gathered on Broadway. “We need an immigration reform. I believe that if we work together on this, raising our voices – we will win.”

Although 2,000 police officers guarded the protesters, the demonstration was a peaceful event.

Similar protests took place in other states as well – New Mexico, Minnesota, Michigan, Alabama, Utah, Oregon and California.

In December of last year the House of Representatives enacted a version of the new immigration law, that makes the illegal stay in the United States a federal felony and significantly tightens border security. The legislation, now being reviewed by the Senate, divides illegal immigrants into three groups based on the length of their stay in the United States: immigrants who have been in the country longer than five years; those who have lived here between two and five years; and those who have been here less than two years.

Immigrants who belong to the first group have the best chance for regulating their status. The immigrants who belong to the other categories should be prepared to be deported to their home countries where they would have to apply for immigration visas.