A bus of "freedom riders" rolled into Wisconsin as part of a cross-country event to demand fair treatment of immigrants, including making it easier to obtain U.S. citizenship.
"This ride will put human rights and civil rights on the front pages of the nation and represents the best of those in this land, our highest hope," said Rev. James Lawson, 75, who worked alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to start the nonviolent movement for civil rights in the 1960s.
He spoke to about 800 people Sunday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Milwaukee.
The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride left Minneapolis at 8 a.m. Sunday. They will go on to Indianapolis.; Columbus, Ohio; and Baltimore. Similar buses are crossing the country and holding rallies to draw attention to immigrant rights and legalization.
The ride plans to reach Washington, D.C., later this week and lobby Congress on Thursday, then hold a mass rally Saturday at the Statue of Liberty.
