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      Article # 7: Marches call for amnesty, reforms in wake of recent immigration raid
                                         From Princeton Packet, November 9, 2004, by Jennifer Potash, Staff Writer

                  
                 More than 200 participants take their message from Tiger Park in Palmer Square to Princeton Borough Hall.

                 Over 200 people called for reforms of immigration law by marching in downtown Princeton Borough on Saturday.
              
                 The march, organized by the Princeton-based Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, started at Tiger Park
                 in Palmer Square and concluded at Princeton Borough Hall, where local activists, elected officials and Latino residents
                 and business owners appealed to the federal government to enact an amnesty for undocumented aliens and cease
                 deportation policies that split up families.

                 Many participants carried hand-painted signs with slogans in both English and Spanish including "We are all immigrants"
                 and "Who's cooking for you?"
     
                 The Latino community in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township was rocked by an Oct. 13 early morning immigration
                 raid at a Witherspoon Street apartment house that led to the arrests of eight males, all undocumented aliens. Maria Juega,
                 one of the organizers of the immigration march, said all but one individual have since been deported.
    
                 One woman, whose identify The Packet is withholding, said her 19-year-old son, who came with her to the United States
                 as a child, was deported to Mexico. The woman is an undocumented alien with an outstanding deportation order and also
                 has a minor child who is a U.S. citizen. She said she has spoken with an attorney in an effort to remain in the country.
     
                 Raul Calvimontes, owner of the Pelusa Travel Agency on Witherspoon Street, said the raids in several communities including
                 Princeton have upset him. He also said he wanted to correct a misconception that undocumented individuals from Latin or
                 Central America are unworthy.
     
                 "We have a culture and we have many things to offer you," he said. "We are here to take a part in this country."

                 Several speakers called on the Princeton Borough Council to adopt a proposed resolution that requested agents of the
                 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to identify themselves as police officers. The resolution is scheduled
                 to be discussed by the Borough Council tonight.
   
                 Ryan Stark Lilienthal, an immigration attorney and former Princeton Borough councilman, said Princeton had a strong
                 immigrant base over the centuries — from Scottish immigrants who became signers of the Declaration of Independence
                 to Italian stone workers who built much of the Princeton University campus. He also urged members of the Latino and
                 Hispanic community, if they are the victims of a crime, to call the local police for help.
    
                 At least three Latino men have been the victims of violent crimes — including attempted robbery and assault — in separate
                 incidents that occurred in late October.

                 "It is vital you report these incidents to the police," said Mr. Lilienthal.

                 A few Princeton Borough Police officers were on hand during the march, but their role was primarily to direct traffic so
                 the marchers could safely cross busy intersections along the downtown route.

                 Borough Mayor Joseph O'Neill, who gave his remarks in both English and Spanish, offered comfort and encouragement
                 to the undocumented aliens who crossed the border in search of a better life in the United States.

                 "But once here, many of you have found us to be cold people in a cold land, ready to exploit your fragile legal status,"
                 Mayor O'Neill said. "But you should not despair. You shall overcome. Although you crossed the Rio Grande and not the
                 River Jordan, some day you will say, 'Free at last, free at last, God Almighty, free at last.'"

                 Borough Councilmen Roger Martindell and Andrew Koontz also addressed the audience.

                 Martin Perez, president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, a New Brunswick-based nonpartisan advocacy
                 organization, urged the audience to "send a message" to federal elected officials to adopt immigration reforms, including
                 an amnesty.
                 "If you want to have our vote, then you must give us respect," he said.

           
 

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