Ventura County farm workers and supporters undertake a two-day march Thursday and Friday from Santa Paula to Oxnard aimed at protesting stepped up immigration raids and intimidation and building support for the AgJobs bill allowing undocumented field laborers to earn permanent legal status. The United Farm Workers-led trek begins both days at 9 a.m. and ends with a rally around 5 p.m. (See the daily schedule and route of march below.) Meanwhile, the UFW is organizing similar marches this week in the Salinas and Central valleys.

Recent raids and intimidation by U.S. immigration authorities heighten the need for this landmark legislation, march organizers say. UFW offices across California have received numerous calls from farm workers and other Latinos afraid to leave their homes or take children to school. According to reports, people are often being questioned and arrested because of their skin color.

The bipartisan federal AgJobs bill now before Congress?S. 1645 and H.R. 3142, by U.S. Sens. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), and U.S. Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.)?would allow undocumented farm workers to earn the legal right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture. Also strongly backed by the agricultural industry, AgJobs has the support of 63 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate, including many Republicans.

AgJobs has been endorsed by hundreds of organizations representing a broad cross-section of employer associations, religious organizations, immigrant advocates, civil rights groups and unions from across the nation. The editorial boards of the Wall St. Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Salinas Californian, La Opinion, Miami Herald, New York Times and other newspapers around the U.S. have editorialized for the measure.

Begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 1, 2004 in Santa Paula

March starts at Mill and Ventura streets in Santa Paula; right towards Harvard Blvd.; Harvard Blvd. becomes Telegraph Rd.; left onto Wells Rd.; right on Telegraph Rd.; left onto Saticoy Ave.; ends at 5 p.m. at Cabrillo Village in Saticoy.

Starts at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 2, 2004 in Saticoy

March begins at Cabrillo Village on Saticoy Ave. in Saticoy; right towards Telegraph Rd.; right onto Los Angeles Ave.; right on Rose Ave.; right on Cesar Chavez Blvd.; left on Juanita Ave.; right on Cooper Rd.; left on Garfield Ave.; right on Third St.; left onto "B" St.; ends at 5 p.m. at La Plazita Park in Oxnard.

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