New Freedom Ride shines light on plight of immigrants

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

Hoping to evoke the force and spirit behind the Freedom Ride of the civil rights era more than 40 years ago, hundreds of supporters of immigrant workers rallied at the Fremont Street Experience Tuesday afternoon.

The rally doubled as send-off for the 40 Nevadans who head east today on the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, which is intended to draw attention to the problems facing immigrant workers and pressure legislators to change some laws to make life better for immigrants.

"I want to see all the families together," said Manuel Rosales, 38, a cleaning attendant at a Las Vegas casino and freedom rider. "I want civil rights for all immigrants."

Fellow rider Miguel Barrientos, 43, publisher of Hispanic Guide and a son of Mexican immigrants, said he hopes laws will be changed to allow immigrant families to stay together.

"I saw this as a great opportunity to voice out on issues that affect the immigrant community," he said.

For example, in some immigrant families the parents are in the United States illegally, but then their children are citizens because they are born in the United State, he said.

"These are law-abiding families that just want the best for their children," Barrientos said.

Barrientos said he also hopes that the freedom ride makes people see that immigrant workers need to be treated like all other workers.

"It seems like immigrant workers are always going to be hit the hardest," he said about economic downturns.

University of Nevada, Reno Spanish literature professor Emma Sepulveda said she hopes the bus ride, which will make a series of stops for rallies in cities on the way to the final demonstration in New York City, will help people "put a human face to the problem."

Sepulveda, an immigrant from Chile, said the 8.5 million undocumented workers in the country need to have their status legalized. Also, laws should be passed to allow immigrant families to bring their children to the U.S.

According to a Freedom Ride statement and organizers, the ride has four main goals: legalization for all immigrant workers; granting immigrant workers the right to reunite their families; protecting the rights of immigrants in the workplace; and civil rights for all people.

The Freedom Ride has the backing and support of a variety of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and several unions, including the Culinary Workers Union.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman gave the Freedom Riders a key to the city during the Tuesday rally and said he hopes the riders will travel safely and be able to accomplish their goal.

Dean Ishman, first vice president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he hopes this Freedom Ride will be just the beginning of a new civil rights movement.