Day Without Immigrants rally in downtown Tulsa

A Day Without Immigrants rallies were held in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. <br/><br/>About 1,000 people rallied at Tulsaâ€™s city hall plaza downtown Monday afternoon. They wanted to persuade Congress to

Monday, May 1st 2006, 4:10 pm

By: News On 6

A Day Without Immigrants rallies were held in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

About 1,000 people rallied at Tulsaâ€™s city hall plaza downtown Monday afternoon. They wanted to persuade Congress to approve legislation allowing illegal immigrants already here to become legal citizens.

Hispanic immigrants skipped work Monday in an effort to slow or shut down farms, factories, markets and restaurants. The idea is to show the economic impact they have on their communities.

Tulsa Police prepared for a crowd of 10,000 at the rally. As the crowd started to leave the City Plaza, acting Police Chief Bill Wells congratulated organizers for a successful day. He put dozens of officers at the rally, just in case. He says he's pleased with the way it went. "Look at the crowd we had today. Little kids, older people. Everybody was well-behaved. They came here for a rally, they had the rally, everyone's going home. It couldn't turn out any better."

Chief Wells said Tulsa's growing Hispanic community has created new challenges for law enforcement. Bi-lingual officers have been added to build a rapport with the Hispanic community every day.

When Tulsa's rally ended, organizers urged the crowd to go to church services to give thanks for the rally and to ask for support and guidance. Some attended an east Tulsa Hispanic church. The News on 6 spoke with several people Monday and they say they hope those who oppose them will at least try to understand them.

A rally in south Oklahoma City swelled to over 3,000 people Monday afternoon as the rally participants marched in front of a number of Hispanic owned businesses.