LV activist speaks against immigration injustice

Monday, Sept. 20, 1999 | 11:22 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A Las Vegas activist spoke out at a rally on Friday at the U.S. Capitol on behalf of thousands of Nevada immigrants who face deportation even though many of them have been in the country for years.

"I cannot believe we are in America," said Malena Burnett, founder of Fair Treatment for Immigrants. "Land of the free, home of the brave -- how can that be when we stand in this room and hear the horror stories that you only hear of in countries far away?"

Burnett and about 20 activists, immigrants and several members of Congress from around the country spoke inside a packed assembly hall in the Capitol at a rally and press conference to protest the deportation of thousands of U.S. immigrants. The speakers decried an immigration law passed in Congress in 1996 that revoked the work permits of immigrants, leading to their deportation as illegals.

The U.S. Senate is considering legislation introduced by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., that would allow courts to intervene in cases where immigrants face deportation because of errors made by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Reid was not able to attend the rally. The House is considering a similar bill.