Preparations underway for immigration march

April 29, 2006 (WLS) -- Thousands are getting ready for Monday's massive immigration march. Up to half a million demonstrators are expected and many of those who plan to attend, spent Saturday learning how to become U.S. citizens.

Those who attended the citizenship drive in Pilsen are here "legally." Many have resident status and say with all of the focus on what to do about "illegal" immigrants now is the "time" to line-up and "take the time" to begin the long process of becoming a United States citizen.

They lined-up down the sidewalk and around the corner, more than 1-thousand "legal" immigrants -- who now want to take the next step.

"I want to have the same rights as everyone else. I want to vote. In the future I want to have a family so I want them to have the same rights as me," said Silvia Escarcega who is applying for citizenship.

Silvia Escarcega says the demonstrations across the country have been an inspiration. She plans to be among the masses marching on Monday. Politicians see a potential power-base forming.

"They're here legally, they've been here more than 5 years. They can apply to become citizens all they need is someone to give them a helping hand. The message is on Monday -- all those marchers, many can vote," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez.

Organizers of Monday's rally in Chicago are busy this weekend -- hoping to convince politicians to give those who are in this country "illegally" a path toward citizenship. "For those who are undocumented, they're here already. They're already working, the more we can legalize their status and make them subject to work safety standards, minimum wage and overtime laws, the less likely they will be to undercut the wages of American workers," said U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

Some have asked why the federal government wouldn't use these rallies to seek out, arrest and deport illegal immigrants. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman tells ABC 7 it likely won't happen:

"It is important to recognize that Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not engage in random sweeps. ICE's enforcement actions are carefully planned operations that result from investigative leads and intelligence with priority given to violations involving national security and criminal activity," Tim Counts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

A Chicago city council ordinance prohibits police and city workers from investigating a person's immigration status.

As for the rally on Monday police superintendent Phil Cline said Friday event organizers have told him the crowd may swell to a half-a-million people.

The march. It begins at 10 am at Union Park on Chicago's West Side. They're expected to end up downtown around 3 in the afternoon for a rally at Grant Park.

Stay with ABC 7 on Monday, we'll have continuous live coverage on our newscasts...and live streaming video of the rally on our website.

You can see the ABC7 report by clicking on the video icon above.  You will need Windows Media Player to view this video. You can get it FREE by clicking here. NOTE: Video clips will only be available for 5-days from the date they were created. ALSO: Video clips will play in a separate window on Mac OS X machines, you may also see a video help screen.

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