They gathered Saturday afternoon near Goodell and Main streets to march for immigrant and worker rights, with signs reading “No Layoffs,” “We Will Not Be Silenced” and “Bigotry Weakens Everyone.”

The 100 marchers who gathered on this May Day pressed on to Martin Luther King Park for a rally, where they urged those assembled to push Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., to support a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The long-simmering issue has taken on renewed importance in light of the recent Arizona immigration legislation, considered regressive and draconian by many, that has triggered a groundswell of protests nationwide.

The marchers, young and old, included representatives of such organizations as the Western New York Peace Center, Hispanics United of Buffalo and the State University of New York Graduate Students Association. This issue alone led people to hit the streets in similar protests in many other communities across the country.

“Hey-ho — we’re fired up, ready to go!” one marcher shouted, as passing cars honked approval.

Corrine Rosen of Reform Immigration for America emphasized the importance of the cause.

“Once it was illegal for workers to unionize. Once it was illegal for women to vote. Once it was illegal for African-Americans to sit at the same lunch counter with whites. Once it was illegal for [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] couples to be open about their relationships. And now it’s illegal for millions of immigrant families without papers to work and live in America,” she said.

Voices from a March for Workers' Rights:

“Every day immigrant workers are being exploited, pitted against American workers in a race to the bottom and helping unscrupulous employers undermine decent ones,” Rosen continued. “Every day, more than 1,000 immigrants are deported. Every day, more than 30,000 immigrants are detained.”

Rosen said the Goodell and Main location was chosen because, “It’s near the Buffalo Employment and Training Center, a staple that is needed for workers even more now that the economy is down.

“We are walking to Martin Luther King Jr. Park because we felt it was fitting to have this demonstration in a park dedicated to a person who dedicated his life to fighting for the human rights for all, and workers rights, and truly believed injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”