Immigration Protest Ends In 56 Arrests
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Dozens were arrested in Lower Manhattan Tuesday during the third and largest rally for immigration reform.
A group of advocates that included elected officials and members of the clergy rallied at 26 Federal Plaza in an act of civil disobedience.
The crowd voiced their anger with the Obama Administration for sending 1,200 National Guardsmen to the U.S. border with Mexico instead of making real legislative reforms.
They also want the administration to play a bigger role in the fight against Arizona's controversial law, which requires police to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally.
"We respect, as a city, the rights of immigrants, documented or not. That we reject what has taken place in Arizona. Because it really challenges the very foundation of what makes this country great," said State Assembly candidate Guillermo Linares.
"Immigration effects everybody -- Latinos, Caucasians, Asians and certainly black folks from the Caribbean and Africa," said Bishop Orlando Findlayter of Churches United to Save and Heal.
Critics say the law will lead to racial profiling.
A total of 56 people were arrested, bringing the total to 109 arrests for the three rallies.