EL PASO, Texas - Two buses carrying nearly 100 people making a "Freedom Ride" to bring attention to mistreatment of undocumented immigrants were stopped for nearly four hours Friday at a U.S. Border Patrol station.
The riders were asked to leave the buses and were questioned, said Hilda Delgado, a spokeswoman on the buses. All were later released, and the buses were back on the road to San Antonio by about noon.
Border Patrol officials in El Paso confirmed that two buses were stopped, but said they were still gathering information. A message left at the checkpoint near Sierra Blanca, 75 miles east of El Paso, wasn't immediately returned.
Delgado, who said she is a U.S. citizen from Los Angeles, wouldn't say whether any of the individuals on the buses were in the country illegally. She said they held up Freedom Ride cards to officials who questioned them.
The cards say that the ride is peaceful, that they exercise their right to remain silent, that they don't consent to a search and don't give up any rights. The card also has the name of a lawyer to contact.
"We have been singing solidarity songs on the bus," Delgado said. "We are trying to expose the injustice of current policies toward immigrants."
Delgado said the people on the bus represent 10 million undocumented immigrants who contribute $730 million each year to the U.S. economy.
"They want to reunite with their families and contribute to the economy," she said. "Our immigration laws need a road to citizenship."
The cross-country caravan, backed by organized labor, began Saturday. Nearly 1,000 people were to join the ride, with 18 buses planning stops in communities including Washington and New York.
Cindy, here is their schedule:
Calendar of City Stops
Below are the cities the Freedom Ride will stop in by date. All programs subject to change. To view the schedule by route, click on one of the originating cities: Seattle/Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Miami, Boston
Date City Stop
26-Sep Santa Fe, NM
Oklahoma City, OK 12 noon Lunch at the Mayflower Congregational Church
2:30 pm Rally at Latino Community Development Agency
5:00 Depart for Reception at Mayflower Congregational Church
5:30-7:30 Reception and Dinner
6:15-Program
Houston, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
New Orleans, LA 7:00 pm Interfaith Prayer Service and Dinner at “The Jesus Never Fails” Christian Center
El Paso, TX
San Antonio, TX 6:00 pm Welcome event in dining area of Catholic Cathedral
7:00 pm Rally on steps of City Hall
8:00 pm March back to Cathedral for brief program
Salt Lake City, UT 6:15 am Breakfast at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
7:00 am Buses depart for Denver, CO
Denver, CO 6:00 pm Program at St. Joseph’s Church
9/27/2003 Chicago, IL 10:00 am Send-Off Rally for Freedom Riders at Federal Plaza (Dearborn at Adams Street in the Loop). Contact Lucy Scharbach for more information
lscharbach@herelocal1.org or 312-663-4373 x260
12:00 pm Buses depart for Dearborn, MI
Dearborn, MI 6:00 pm Arrive Dearborn for Rally at Arab American Community Center
Detroit, MI Benefit Dinner at UAW Local 600
Tulsa, OK 8:30 am Tour of pickle factory on way into town
9:00 am Breakfast and event
12 Noon Buses Depart for Little Rock, AR
Little Rock, AR 5:00 pm Arrive for Civil Rights Museum Festival
5:45-6:00 Move to the Steps of Little Rock Central High School
6-7 PM Program
New Orleans, LA 8:00 am Breakfast at St. Vincents Guest House
10:00 am Buses Depart for Macomb, MS
Macomb, MS Noon Lunch & rally downtown
2:00 pm Buses depart for Jackson, MS
Jackson, MS 5:00 pm MLK / Medger Evers Freedom Corner Prayer Vigil
6:00 pm Dinner at the State Rotunda
San Antonio, TX 6:30 am Blessing by Aztec dancers before riders board buses
Austin, TX 9:00 am Buen Samaritano Episcopal Center for program
Dallas, TX 3:00 pm Rally at Kennedy Memorial Plaza
6:30 pm To Catholic Conference Center
Miami, FL 7:00 am Kickoff Event – Soccer Festival
7:30 am Program and Breakfast at Toussaint Louverture Elementary School
Immokalee, FL 11:45 am Bus welcomed outside the Coalition of Immokalee Workers office
12:00 - 2:00 PM. Rally, walking tour of farmworking community, and lunch! Meet and park at Coalition of Immokalee Workers' office building - 215F W. Main St. (corner of 3rd St. and Main). Contact Coalition of Immokalee Workers (
workers@ciw-online.org) for more information.
Orlando, FL 5:30 pm Dinner – St. Andrews Catholic Church
7:30 pm Town Hall Meeting at St. Andrews Catholic Church
Wichita, KS 6:00 pm Dinner and Program at the Native American Center
Denver, CO 7:00 am Buses depart for Omaha
6:00 pm Rally at MLK park 7:00 pm Fiesta at La Plaza Dela Raza
Omaha, NE
28-Sep Toledo, OH 12:15 pm Arrive at Festival (South Toledo)
1:30 pm LUNCH at Festival March to FLOC HQ for Rally
3:00 pm Buses depart for Cleveland
Cleveland, OH 5:00 pm Program and Dinner
Knoxville, TN 5:00 pm Dinner and evening event at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Marion NC
Selma, AL 10:00 am Welcome Event at Brown Chapel A.M.E.
10:15 am Tour the slavery and civil rights museum
11:15 am Tour the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute
11:45 am Walk across the Edmond Pettus Bridge Noon Buses Depart for Montgomery, AL
Montgomery, AL 1:00 pm Lunch at St. James Baptist Church
2:00 pm Town Hall meeting & lunch at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church
4:00 pm Buses depart for Birmingham
Birmingham, AL 5:30 pm Bus A - Tour Civil Rights Institute; Bus BTour 16th Street Baptist Church
7:00 pm Buses depart for LIUNA Local 599
7:30 pm Dinner and Program at at Liuna Local 599
Dallas, TX 6:00 am Buses depart for Memphis, TN
Memphis, TN 3:00 pm Rally at National Civil Rights Museum
7:00 pm First Congregation Church for Dinner
Green Cove Springs, FL 9:20 am Rally at Clay County Jail
Savannah, GA 2:30 pm Rally dedicating Free Haitians Monument commemorating the Seige of Savannah during the revolution and battle with the British.
Charleston, SC 6:00 pm Town hall meeting, dinner
Minneapolis, MN 7:00 am Buses depart for Madison, WI
Madison, WI 12 Noon Interfaith Lunch at the Labor Temple
2:00 pm Buses depart for Jefferson, WI
Jefferson, WI 2:15 pm Solidarity Action with UFCW strikers
2:45 pmBuses depart for Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee, WI 4:30 pm Program at Our Lady of Guadalupe
6:30 pm Dinner at Azteca Restaurant
Wichita, KS 6:30 am Breakfast at IAM Hall
7:30 am Buses Depart for Kansas City, MO
Kansas City, MO 11:00 am Join a day of events at the Primotivo Garcia School
St. Louis, MO 6:30 pm Rally at Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis
Omaha, NE 8:45 am Interdenominational service and breakfast at La Plaza Dela Raza
10:15 am Buses depart for Des Moines
Des Moines, IA 12:45 pm Memorial, skits & Lunch
2:00 pm Buses depart for Davenport
Davenport (Quad Cities) 5:00 pm Rally under the Oaks at St. Ambrose College
Boston, MA 4:00 pm Kickoff event at Faneul Hall. Contact Brian Lang (617) 423-3335 for more information.
29-Sep Boston, MA 8:30 am Buses depart for Providence, RI
Providence, RI 10:00 am City Hall event with Mayor of Providence
Hartford, CT 2:00 pm Press Conference at City Hall
New Haven, CT 5:00 pm Dinner at First and Summerfield United Methodist Church
6:00 pm Interfaith Religious Service
Cleveland, OH
Buffalo, NY 11:00 am Arrive for Lunch at Buffalo Convention Center, Forum March to downtown for picket/rally at hotel
3:30 pm Buses Depart for Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY 6:30 pm Official Welcome and Dinner, Colgate Divinity School
Marion, NC 12 Noon Snacks and event
1:30 pm Buses depart for Morganton
Morganton, NC 4:00 pm Event and Welcome by students
Anniston, AL 7:30 am Program at the Anniston, AL Gadsden State Community College, Ayers Campus
8:30 am Buses Depart for Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA Noon Wreath laying ceremony and gravesite service at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
2:00 pm Receive Proclamations at City Hall.
3:00 pm Buses Depart for Doraville, GA
Doraville, GA 5:30 pm Immigrant Freedom March
5:30 pm Town Hall Meeting and Dinner at UAW Local 10
Nashville, TN 12 Noon Rally at the Capitol
1:30 pm Capitol Hill Baptist Church
2:30 pm Walk to downtown Library Historic site & sit-in videos
4:30 pm March to pedestrian bridge
7:00 pm Dinner and hotel check in
Charleston, SC 6:30 am Ecumenical Breakfast
8:00 am Buses depart for Orangeburg, SC
Orangeburg, SC 9:30 am South Carolina State University for lecture on Orangeburg massacre between students and law enforcement in 1968.
Columbia, SC 12 noon Rally & Lunch at Brookland Baptist Church
Fayetteville, NC 5:30 pm Markethouse
7:30 pm Dinner at 1st Baptist Church
Milwaukee, WI 6:30 am Breakfast at Retreat Center
7:20 am Buses Depart for Brookfield, WI
7:45 am Demonstration at Sensenbrenner’s Office
8:15 am Buses Depart for Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis, IN 1:15 pm Lunch and Program at Holy Trinity Catholic Church & Bockhold Hall
3:00 pm Buses depart for Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH 8:00 pm Dinner and Welcome at St. Stephen’s Community House
St. Louis, MO 7:00 am Breakfast at Todd Hall Seminary
9:30 am Civic Participation Program at St. Frances de Sales Catholic Church and National Linen (UNITE!) Laundry
11:00 am Press Conference at the Old Courthouse
11:30 pm Buses Depart for Louisville, KY
Louisville, KY 5:00 pm Dinner at Americana Community Center
6:45 pm Food, music and testimonies at the University of Louisville’s Freedom Park
Columbus, OH 8:00 pm Dinner and Welcome at St. Stephen’s Community House
30-Sep Reading, PA 11:30 am Box lunch provided by Steelworkers Local 6996 Noon Rally at St. Lukes Church
Malvern, PA 3:30 pm SEIU Local 36 Rally and Press Conference at Liberty Property Trust Headquarters
Philadelphia, PA 6:00 pm Potluck and celebration with community supporters at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in South Philadelphia
Syracuse, NY 11:00 am Arrive at St. Vincent’s DePaul Roman Catholic Church for Interfaith
1:15 pm On to Liverpool
1:30 pm Rally
2:15 pm Buses Depart for Albany, NY
Albany, NY 5:00 pm Arrive for Public Rally at Washington Park
6:30 pm March to United Methodist Church
Newburgh, NJ
Morganton, NC 10:00 am Breakfast
11:00 am Buses Depart for Greensboro, NC
Greensboro, NC
Charlotte, NC 10:30 am Arrive at Johnson C. Smith University for Program
1:00 pm Buses Depart for Durham, NC
Durham, NC 5:00 pm Rally at the North Carolina Mutual Life insurance Building
7:00 pm Town Hall Meeting
8:00 pm Dinner
Nashville, TN 7:30 am Buses Depart for Morristown, TN
Morristown, TN 1:00 pm Welcome riders at local park
1:45 pm Lunch and visit with local IWFR supporters at park
3:00 pm Rally at Park
3:30 pm March from park to nearby downtown area and return to park
4:45 pm Buses depart for Roanoke, VA
Wilson, NC 10:00 am Visit to farm labor camps
12 Noon Lunch on front lawn of downtown library
Virginia Beach, VA 6:00 pm Press conference & Dinner
7:00 pm Gather in worship space
7:10 pm Prayer service begins
7:45 pm Speakers from Freedom Ride
8:05 pm Witness speaker from Eastern Shore
8:15 pm Speaker from local Hispanic community regarding the DMV Issue
Columbus, OH 7:10 am Buses depart for breakfast program
7:30 am Breakfast and Program at the Columbus Department of Health
10:00 am On to Justice for Janitors / SEIU site for support rally
11:00 am Buses depart for Charleston, WV and Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, MD 7:30 pm Dinner and Welcome at St. Peter Claver Parish; Fr. Charles Hall School Facility
Louisville, KY 7:45 am Buses Depart for Shelbyville, KY
Shelbyville, KY 8:30 am Breakfast at Centro Latino & tour of INS raid sites
Pittsburgh, PA 6:00 pm Dinner at Hill House, March to Freedom Corner and program with speakers at St. Benedict de Moor Church
Charleston, WV
1-Oct Philadelphia, PA 7:00 am Continental breakfast at hotel
9:00 am Interfaith Prayer vigil & send off at Philly City Hall
Newburgh, NY 9:30 am Arrive at Underground Railroad church for BREAKFAST On to St. Patrick’s Church for press conference
11:30 am Buses Depart for Washington, D.C.
Greensboro, NC 4:00 pm Dinner and Evening Event
Durham, NC 7:00 am Buses Depart for Immaculate Conception Parish
8:00 am Buses Depart for Richmond, VA
Richmond, VA
Baltimore, MD 7:30 am Interfaith Breakfast at United House of Prayer for All People
Noon University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, Welcome the Freedom Riders from Minnesota and rally for in-state tuition for Maryland’s immigrant high school students.
11:30 am Demonstration at University of MD Law School Plaza for in-state tuition bill for immigrant students
1:00 pm Buses depart for Washington, DC
Pittsburgh, PA 7:30 am Breakfast at St. Paul’s of the CrossRetreat Center
Washington, DC 6:30 pm Washington, DC,Bible Way Temple, 1100 New Jersey Ave., N.W. Welcome all the Freedom Riders to DC!
2-Oct Washington, DC 7 pm March in Solidarity with the DC Parking Industry
3-Oct Liberty State Park, NJ
4-Oct Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, New York visit
http://www.nycclc.org/CLC_FreedomRide_Forms.asp for more information.
Freeper's greet them please!!!
I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the Border Patrol is deliberately sabotaging their own organization. Stopping a bus without actually nabbing anyone will just get the riders more attention.
I have been trying to find out if any counter-protests are going on in DC to match theirs.
U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) - includes a primer on citizenship. Why don't they use this?!
I was so enraged, yep I misread they intervened on their behalf, ok now then we really need to find out who the sellouts are!
Then we should deman those two Congress Critter's be arrested, heck why not all of Capitol Hill nearly?!
Your right about that! Especially with the AP , NYTimes etc covering this travesty daily!
Yes I have. In regards to the illegal immigration situation, I am afraid that George Bush is not the President to do anything about it. That really makes me sad. Being tagged as Pro-Bush and all.
A grass-roots movement that can get a modivated 10% membership across the American population would force change to happen. Until then, I feel that we are falling on deaf ears.
Any info on how much wealth is shipped out of country to our neighbors to the south??
The last count I had was 6.4 billion dollars. Which by the way exceed tourism reciepts for the country of Mexico. There is no incentive to keep illegals out of the US.
We see.... a road block made up of Freepers, consisting of 18 wheelers, tractors and many other vehicles, massed on one of the roads upon which this illegal procession is traveling. We see, Freepers, with appropriate signage, making bold and morally deterministic statements, reminding this illegal procession and our supposed government of the law. We see, a growing grass roots movement, to place pressure upon any politicians and Homeland Security functionaries, who fail to enfore our borders, and to create a "do not reelect" and "do not reappoint" lists, which will be distributed via internet, media and direct mail. We see...... ;