Freedom riders descend on D.C.

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Traveling on a bus for a week headed for New York may not be the preferred vacation for most people, but Las Vegas resident Leonora Rehm wanted to be part of a "historical experience." So far, she says it's been worth it.

Rehm, and 38 other Las Vegas members of labor unions, religious and community groups joined 900 other immigrants and supporters in Washington Wednesday as part of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride -- a nationwide movement aimed to draw attention to problems face by working immigrants living who do not have, or cannot get, U.S. citizenship.

The group was expected to visit with lawmakers and participate in a march and rally today.

Immigrants who have permanent legal status become eligible for U.S. citizenship five years later, but long lines, high fees, and a backlogged bureaucracy make it difficult for the 7.5 million currently eligible immigrants "to cross the bridge to full participation in American democracy," organizers of the ride said.

Riders left Las Vegas on Sept. 24 and will end their trip at a rally in Queens, New York, on Saturday. The ride made several stops along the route for participants to talk with local media and officials.

"This is historical for me," Rehm said. "I want to voice my opinion on what has happened to me."

Rehm married a member of the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines in 1975 but did not become a full-fledged U.S. citizen until 1988. She had to apply three times before getting approved, despite the fact she worked and paid taxes during those 13 years.

"As soon as I step my foot here I wanted to become a U.S. citizen," she said. "My experience was hard enough. Why is it that long? It should have been no problem."

Rehm, a Culinary Union member, has lived in Las Vegas for 11 years and has worked in the food and beverage department of the Luxor for the past seven years. She used a week of her vacation time to participate in the ride, leaving her only a few days left for the year, but she said she wanted to "work for justice."

The ride, modeled after the Civil Rights rides of the 1960s, seeks a new immigration policy that would include:

Eliseo Segura, who also arrived from Las Vegas, has been talking with people and the media in cities along the route. He said even though he left the towns along the way, he knew his words would stay there.

The riders made stops in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina before coming to Washington.

"My experience is already over, but the people who are coming, I don't want to live the same," he said. "I want to be able to help the people somehow. Put my little grain of sand in this and make a big difference."

He said he has learned a lot too from other participants and now has friends from Japan, the Philippines and "from all over the world."

Now a cook at the Golden Nugget and a Culinary member, Segura moved to California from Mexico 10 years ago after he was promised work in the United States. He said what he experienced was a lot different than what had been promised: He earned $67 for two months of work with no time off. He married a U.S. citizen and is now a legal resident through marriage.

"I don't want to see people who have been working in this country, paying taxes, and not be able to go see their parents when they die," Segura said.

He said he missed funerals of his grandmother and great uncle because of foreign travel restrictions and fear he would not be let back into the country.

Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, a community liaison for the Culinary Union, also made the trip.

"We are a nation built on immigrant labor, both in the past and now," Pierce said.

"When you are buying gasoline, they don't ask you if you are a documented citizen," she said.