Thousands protest immigration proposals at Oregon rally

SALEM, Ore. — Protesters by the thousands rallied in front of the State Capitol on Sunday with chants of "Yes, it's possible" and "No to deportation, yes to legalization" to protest a strict immigration proposal passed by the U.S. House.

It was the latest, and among the largest, of several marches and rallies in Oregon in recent weeks and comes on the eve of more such demonstrations planned across the nation, including in Seattle, today.

"People from all the Latin American nations are here to say we will have a peaceful day. We are not criminals, we are workers," one speaker told the crowd, estimated at 10,000.

Salem is in the agriculturally rich Willamette Valley, home to many of the state's estimated 300,000 Hispanics. By some estimates, more than half are undocumented.

The U.S. Senate is working with milder proposals but went into recess last week without agreeing on any one bill.

Ramon Ramirez, head of Oregon's farmworkers union, said he and others will meet this week with Oregon U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith.

Protesters clamored for a bill that would provide some form of legalization, at least for immigrants already here.

The division in the Senate — and differences between what it might approve and what the House passed — puts into question the chance of any new immigration law getting passed.