Atlanta immigrant rights protest draws 50,000

ATLANTA - Tens of thousands of immigrants spilled into the streets of Atlanta Monday in a national day of action billed as a ``campaign for immigrants' dignity.''

Police estimated at least 50,000 people, many in white T-shirts and waving signs and American flags, joined a two-mile march from a largely immigrant neighborhood northeast of Atlanta.

The Georgia protesters had two targets: congressmen weighing immigration reform and state legislation now awaiting Governor Perdue's signature that would require adults seeking many state-administered benefits to prove they are in the U-S legally.

Nineth Castillo, a 26-year-old waitress from Guatemala who joined the Atlanta march, said she has lived in the United States for eleven years ``without a scrap of paper.''

Asked whether she was afraid to parade her undocumented status in front of a massive police presence, she laughed and said: ``Why? They kick us out, we're coming back tomorrow.''