Concerts set for illegals' amnesty

In the tradition of aid concerts that have raised money for everything from poverty in Africa to hurting farmers, a pro-immigrant activist in Arizona has planned a series of concerts intended to push federal amnesty for illegal aliens currently in the U.S.

Elias Bermudez says he's raised more than $43,000 to pay for the concerts scheduled for October in Glendale, Ariz., the Arizona Republic reported.

The activist has made appearances on Spanish-language radio asking for donations for the events, which will feature Mexican superstar singers.

According to the report, Bermudez hopes to raise $1 million from concertgoers and business donations to pay for national immigration-reform television ads.

Despite Bermudez's goal, some immigrant-rights group are skeptical, questioning his motives and the fund-raising strategy of collecting money from illegal aliens by telling them help is on the way.

"Everyone is making money and benefiting, except the migrants," Salvador Reza, the head of the Macehualli day-labor center in northeast Phoenix, told the paper.

He believes Bermudez may be selling illegals false hopes.

"Migrants are desperate and want to do something, so they will give money if they think it will help legalize their status," Reza said.

Bermudez acknowledged he will benefit if the feds approve immigration reform because he will have new clients at his Phoenix-based Centro de Ayuda, or the Help Center, where he assists immigrants in filling out immigration and tax documents.

"I can't stop the critics," Bermudez told the Republic. "But they are not going to stop me from trying to help immigrants."

Bermudez was convicted of money laundering in 1996 and sentenced to 18 months behind bars. He maintains his innocence.

The activist says he supports a proposal by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would give illegal aliens in the U.S. the chance to earn permanent residency over an extended period. President Bush has also pushed a "guest-worker" plan that critics claim amounts to an amnesty program.

Abel Ledezma is a legal immigrant living in Arizona.

"It's not about making money or just listening to music," he is quoted as saying. "It's about sending a message to Congress about the need to stop border deaths."

James Edwards, author of "The Congressional Politics of Immigration Reform," slammed the McCain-Kennedy legislation.

"[Under the legislation], aliens get to keep the job they stole in the first place," he wrote recently. "They don’t have to worry about most inadmissibility standards. They and their family go to the front of the line, ahead of every legal immigrant. They can in turn sponsor as many family members as they want. ... In short, the bill amounts to a cruel joke on the American people."

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