Rallies across the country Monday in support of immigrant rights sent a message to the American public: Take notice because this issue has many passionate people willing to take risks to spread their message.

Workers risked losing their jobs by participating in the rally, forcing business owners and consumers to understand the marchers’ impact on the community.

According to recent census information, illegal immigrants comprise five percent of the American labor force. Census research also shows that about 12 percent of Americans are foreign born.

Supporters of reform were encouraged to boycott American products, causing economists to speculate on the impact.

This issue is both a rural and urban dilemma — Chicago had the largest rally in the country with an estimated 400,000 people, but DeKalb also had a sizable rally.

As stated in the May 2 Northern Star, 300 people marched through campus showing local importance of the nation-wide movement.

Several DeKalb businesses had to adjust to a diminished workforce due to rally attendance.

We would like to praise those marchers for rising above the current apathetic/apolitical culture and voicing their opinion.

If we had a country of politically active people maybe fewer citizens would be discontented with the government.

Opportunities are everywhere in America, thus the illegal immigrants are spread throughout the country.

DeKalb sits 1400 miles north of the Mexican border, yet still has an undeniable illegal immigrant population.

As of 2000, DeKalb had 2,334 foreign-born residents who were not citizens at the time.

Those residents are not necessarily in the country illegally but to say that they are all legal is naive.

We hope an active debate allows for a peaceful resolution to the issue of illegal immigration.

For those committed enough to spend their day rallying for a cause, we applaud them for initiating the debate — a foundation of any free society.