Migrant activists rally at Capitol

Immigrant advocates staged a protest at the Capitol on Saturday to demand changes to the latest immigration proposal before Congress.

Protesters said they held the gathering while lawmakers were on recess to ensure immigration would remain a top priority when the Senate reconvenes Monday.

“We wanted to send a message that people are watching. This is not one of those things that is going to go away. It’s only going to get worse,” said protest speaker Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union.

The afternoon protest on the Capitol’s West Lawn drew about 5,000 people, fewer than expected.

Organizers said they received many phone calls from immigrants afraid to attend after recent workplace raids and a clash between police and immigration activists in Los Angeles last month.

Organizer Jaime Contreras, president of the National Capital Immigrant Coalition, said legalization provisions in the latest Senate immigration bill should be revised to make it easier for illegal immigrants to become permanent residents or citizens and to bring their families to the United States.

Under the Senate proposal, a head of household would have to pay a $1,000 fine and $500 for each family member plus processing fees to gain legal residency, and he would have to return to his home country to apply. To become a citizen, he would have to pay an additional $4,000 over eight years.

“It’s saying, ‘We’re going to penalize you for trying to become a citizen,’ ” said Claudia Vasquez, 27, a teacher whose family emigrated from El Salvador to Washington, D.C.

“We want to do it, but it’s expensive,” protester Jose Pena, 35, said in Spanish, suggesting lower fees of $1,000 to $2,000 for citizenship.

Pena emigrated from El Salvador years ago and now works as a driver on a temporary visa, sending money home to care for his three sons, ages 13, 10 and 8. He is buying a house in Maryland and said immigrants who have built lives in the U.S. would not want to risk returning to their home countries to apply for temporary visas.

“We’re not sure they will let us back in,” he said.

Maria Elisa Rivera, a realestate agent from Purcellville, Va., who immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras and became a citizen 10 years ago, said the government should streamline the green card application process for illegal immigrants who are already here.

“Let people work, pay their taxes. Give them some kind of a permit. If they’re criminals, take them out. But if they work, give them another chance,” she said.

molly.hennessy-fiske@ latimes.com