Stateline Protesters Join Immigration Rally in Chicago

Belvidere & Chicago, IL - Its 7 a.m. 60 people board a bus leaving Belvidere for Chicago, skipping work and school to make this trip. Arriving early for the massive immigration rally, Stateliners wait for one other bus to arrive from Rockford and get ready to document the historic day. The few hundred Stateline residents head together through Union Park on Chicagos West Side to join the rest of the protesters...all 400,000 of them. Rally organizers specifically chose today to march because its May Day, the International Labor Day. The protesters are trying to convince politicians to give the approximately 12 million immigrants living and working in the U.S. illegally an avenue toward citizenship. "Today we want to let them know how important we are to this country," says Rubi Rodriguez, a protester from Rockford. "Because we are important to this country, just like everybody else. And we need to make a statement. This is our statement, today is our statement." "A lot of immigrants, a lot of Mexicans, a lot of Hispanics not going to work today isn`t going to stop the world, isn`t going to stop the country," says Rolando Rios, a protester from Belvidere. "But it will send a message, and that`s what we`re doing, we`re sending a message." They are protesting for immigration reform, but against a bill that would make being an undocumented worker in the U.S. a felony and mean criminal charges for anyone who helps them. "They`re changing the name from illegal immigrant to aggravated felon, it seems like," says Rios. "Just to be allowed to work, the working process is fine," says Karel Medina, a protester from Belvidere. "Having to go through the barriers to work is fine. Just not the whole punishment and felonies, prosecutions that come with it. We don`t agree with it." Stateline marchers say they dont want to stop the world for the day, just make a dent in it to be heard. "I think this is going to do a lot," says Rodriguez. "This is going to change a lot. Because people are going to take us more seriously than just you know all, ‘They`re a small group, they`re a minority.` They`re going to take us more seriously."