USA Today October 14, 1996

A crowd estimated at 25,000 waved the flags of Latin American countries and carried banners demanding justice in a Washington, D.C., rally Saturday. And at least one organizer, Roberto Frischano, said Sunday that the capital's first major Hispanic demonstration, the Immigrant and Poor People's March, should become an annual event. "The main goal was to get people mobilized," Frischano said. Organizers seek a $7-an-hour minimum wage; an easier citizenship process; affirmative action programs; free public education and health services for all, including illegal immigrants, and changes in labor laws to make it more difficult for employers to challenge union elections. Also sought: amnesty for all illegal immigrants who entered the USA before January 1992. Estimates of that population range from 1.5 million to 3 million. "Enough of the hypocrisy," Frischano said. "No human being is illegal."

Written by John Bacon. Contributing: Susan Gvozdas