"We need to have a day of rest," shouted Robert Gallegos, president of Raz Political Action Committee, a coalition that opposed the bill. "They need to understand that we're people. They can't treat us the way they are treating us."

Roughly 2,000 adults and children, many holding white candles, cheered in agreement with Gallegos on Monday at a protest of Senate Bill 227 in front of the City-County Building in downtown Salt Lake City.

The bill, which has been approved by the House and Senate, would strip undocumented residents of their driver licenses and issue them a driving card, starting July 1. The bill needs to be signed by the governor to become law.

"We need to unite. If the governor doesn't listen to us, we're going to strike," Gallegos told the crowd that also marched several blocks around downtown.

Miguel Rodriguez, an undocumented construction worker, said he would go on strike from his $11-an-hour job in protest if SB227 is signed into law.

"It's important so that [government leaders] can see that we are united as Mexicans," said Rodriguez, who is married and has three kids. He moved from Mexico to Salt Lake County about eight years ago.

"It doesn't matter if we're from Mexico or here," he said. "We should be able to drive."

Gallegos said he, along with about 20 community leaders, is requesting a meeting with Huntsman before the governor makes a decision on the bill. If the governor signs it, Gallegos said, community groups are threatening a lawsuit.

Late Monday night, Huntsman's spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said the governor was out of town and unavailable for comment. She confirmed that SB227 had arrived at Huntsman's office on Monday. The governor is expected to be in his office today.

Huntsman, who has supported the bill, has until March 22 to sign it, Kikuchi said.

The three-hour march and candlelight vigil was planned in just five days by the University of Utah's student chapter of M.E.Ch.A. - a national political and community activist group, said event organizers.

Nubia Velasquez, a communications sophomore and M.E.Ch.A. member, said group members organized the march because many of them have family members who are undocumented residents.

"We figured we had to do something to help out our community," she said.

Velasquez, a 19-year-old documented resident, said if the governor signs the bill it would be a slap in the face for undocumented workers who call Utah home.

"They need us here because we do the jobs that nobody else wants to do," she said. "But they want to keep us under their thumb."

Miriam Guzman, a 32-year-old elementary school teacher, said the United States was founded by European immigrants looking for a better life. Latino families, many of whom she works with, want the same, she said.

"What are we teaching our next generation?" said Guzman, who rushed to the march after work. "We're showing them discrimination and separation - instead of unity."

As the sun set Monday, people, most of them Latinos and some pushing babies in strollers, marched through downtown chanting phrases in Spanish, including "People. United. We'll never be divided" and "Yes we can."

At the City-County Building, the crowd was mostly silent. A woman stood holding a white rose and glass candle with a picture of the Virgin Mary on it. Some snacked on Mexican sweet bread. Others held U.S. flags and homemade signs that read: "Stop the encouragement of racial profiling."

Beatrice Comacho, a 37-year-old undocumented resident, stood with her son, Evaristo Ramirez, a fifth-grader in Midvale who wore a shirt that read: "I love Utah, so don't label me."

"We're here to fight for the changes in the law," she said in Spanish. "Why are the kids punished if they are from here? Those changes are affecting them."

Gallegos urged people to stay involved and voice their concerns.

"We're not going to let things go," he shouted.

jsanchez@sltrib.com

An Appeal to the Governor