Students from several local high schools plan to march Friday afternoon in support of immigration reform, activists and authorities said.
The march is scheduled to start after classes at Escondido High School about 2:30 p.m. and end at City Hall with a rally. Students are organizing the march in conjunction with a similar event in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, said Nydia Ramirez, who is helping to organize the event.
Ramirez said students are using social media Web sites such as Myspace, text messages and word of mouth to organize the march. Students from Orange Glen and San Pasqual high schools also are expected to participate.
Immigrant rights advocates plan to rally at the National Mall on Sunday to pressure Congress and President Barack Obama to overhaul the nation's immigration system this year. The activists are calling for reforms that include legalizing millions of illegal immigrants.
Obama pledged Thursday "to do everything in my power" to get immigration legislation moving in Congress this year. He said work on an immigration bill should proceed based on an outline released Thursday by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
The proposal calls for illegal immigrants to admit they broke the law, pay a fine and back taxes, and perform community service if they want to get on a pathway to legal status. They would also be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English.
Escondido police Chief Jim Maher said he planned to meet with the organizers Thursday afternoon to discuss the student march in Escondido.
"Our only concern is that we have enough staffing," Maher said.
In March, 2006, thousands of students in North County joined many of others across the country to protest a bill that would have made it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally and imposed new penalties on employers who hired illegal immigrants.
Smaller groups of students rallied again in 2007 in support of immigration reform. That same year, an immigration reform bill backed by then-President George W. Bush failed in the U.S. Senate as lawmakers disagreed on how to address the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
Latino rights groups are now hoping to pressure the Obama administration to back a new immigration bill.
"We have been patient, but our families can't afford to keep waiting," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino rights organization.
U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said he opposes any immigration legislation that includes legalizing undocumented immigrants.
"This so-called comprehensive immigration reform really means amnesty for the 10 (million) to 20 million illegal immigrants in America today," Bilbray said. "What part of the word 'illegal' doesn't the president understand?"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.
