Thousands of immigrants march for rights in St. Paul

Three words have echoed across the country for weeks now: "Si, se puede!" On Sunday the Spanish phrase for "Yes, we can!" resonated through St. Paul.

"The sleeping giant has awoken," says marcher Alberto Monserrate. "I don't think Minnesota has probably seen a march this big in quite a while."

Police estimated the crowd at more than 30,000. Some took buses from the edges of the state while others simply had to walk. All of them know what's at stake.

"We are at a crossroads right now that will define the charcter of our country," says Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Plans to reform immigration are weaving their ways through the state and federal governments.

The group rallying Sunday supports a bill that would give millions of undocumented workers a chance at citizenship.

"We are all here against illegal immigration," Monserrate says. "What we're for is legal immigration."

Another plan in the U.S. House would make being an undocumented worker a felony. That concerns many at the rally, including 12-year-old Star Rivera.

"We are not criminals." she says. "We don't come here to steal anything, we don't come here to steal money. We come here to work hard."

Just one day earlier, a much smaller group took its message to the Capitol. They called for tougher immigration laws, more border security and no amnesty.

"We are just for a legal process so we can stop the flooding of the borders," says Ruthie Hendrycks with Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform.

Sunday's large group also made its way to the Capitol, marching in a giant pact from the Cathedral.

"This is pretty amazing," said one marcher toward the front of the group.

Similar rallies were staged in Dallas, Des Moines and Salt Lake City Sunday. More are planned in Washington, Los Angeles and Philadelphia on Monday.

Last week Senators had reached a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform. But that fell apart Friday. So it will be a couple weeks before Congress takes up the issue again.

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