KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Rally for Immigrant Rights in Downtown Wichita
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by Jim GraweA pro-immigration march through Wichita advocated legal status for the 40 to 70 thousand illegals in Kansas.
Kansas United Corporation, which is a local civil rights group, gathered people at 23rd North and Broadway and took the street. They are calling for an end to INS raids and the stopping deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Instead, the group wants the U.S. to offer what are called "z visas". The visas allow people to enter the country and work for three years, then be awarded citizenship. The marchers say it would benefit all of Kansas.
"The Hispanic immigrants and the immigrants here in Kansas have always been a strong economic force," says march organizer Ken Thomas. "If we lose that force we are going to have economic problems here in Kansas."
They say agriculture, meat packing and construction trades rely on low-wage immigrant workers to keep costs down.
The march ended on the steps of city hall where hundreds gathered for a rally.
