Organizers Expect Crush for Immigrant Rights Rally

"We are all Americans," said Carlos Castera, a CASA official. "We want to show we support this country. We contribute to the economy of this country."

Behind the Tenant and Workers United Association building in Alexandria, more than 200 children, teenagers and their families painted signs that read, " Legalización Ahora " ("Legalization Now") as they ate pupusas and listened to a group of young men perform reggaeton. Draped on a wire fence nearby was a banner that read, " ¡No Racismo! " ("No Racism!").

"We have to show that we are not criminals. We work. We work for a better life," said Jose Trejo, a bricklayer from Alexandria who was planning to take the day off from work to attend the rally.

At St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Sandra Martinez, a 32-year-old native of Mexico who lives in Rockville, handed out fliers in English, Spanish and French as worshipers pulled their cars into the parking lot on Palm Sunday.

Most of the people going to church were Hispanic, but Martinez and other volunteers reached out to the many African immigrants who attended Mass.

"It's not just a Latino thing," Martinez said. "I think it applies to everyone who comes into this country."

Maria Perez, a 56-year-old Takoma Park resident and native of the Dominican Republic, said in Spanish that she plans to go to the rally with her 19-year-old daughter and 51-year-old sister.

"I think tomorrow is a very important day for us," she said as she stood in the parking lot of St. Camillus after Mass. "All Latinos should support each other."

Walking up and down the busy business strip in Mount Pleasant yesterday, everyone seemed to know about the rally.

And for anyone who didn't, there were reminders such as the fluorescent pink poster plastered on the door of Don Juan's Restaurant & Carryout urging people to join the demonstration.

Marguerita Maldonado, who is from El Salvador, has her green card, thanks in part to a program that gave citizens of her country, once beset by civil war, temporary protection.

But when she first arrived in the United States, in 1996, Maldonado had no such protection, she said. She was afforded temporary protection in 1991. Not until last year did she receive permanent residency, and only then did she finally feel at peace.

"I was part of the country," said Maldonado, the owner of Pollo and Pizza, a little place on the north end of Mount Pleasant Street NW.

And she wants others to have that opportunity, which is why she thinks the rally, which she plans to attend, is so important.

"At least people are not sitting down," she said.

Staff writers Ann E. Marimow, Henri E. Cauvin, Martin Weil and Allan Lengel contributed to this report.