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The hearing, called Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism, Part I,

will start at 9 a.m. at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station, 1802 Saturn Blvd., Imperial Beach.

The second part will be Friday in Laredo, Texas.

What's the point, if Joe Average doesn't get his say about how illegal immigration is impacting him? Only 100 people allowed in????

Just another sideshow.

Plus they conveniently schedule it on a day that makes it hard for people to get there from out of town, given the holiday.

The hearing will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, but only the invited speakers will be allowed to address the panel.

Guess this is something else Americans can't do - speak to congress. Are the congress critters afraid to hear from the people? Seems so.

Local religious leaders plan to hold a vigil outside, and another group plans to bring 4,000 crosses representing those who have died trying to cross the border illegally.

Will the clergy of Roman Catholic Church be there?

There also will be an “alternative” hearing at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mountain View Community Center, 641 S. Boundary St., San Diego, where human rights advocates will listen to immigrants talk about their experiences.

I am willing to bet that there will be more coverage of this event by the MSM than the actual hearings held by Ed Royce.

“We are trying to call attention to the fact that they are only presenting one point of view, and that people are not being allowed to speak,” said the Rev. Patricia Andrews-Callori of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in National City. She belongs to the local chapter of the We Are America Coalition, a national alliance of labor, church and community groups that advocates a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.

The "We Are America Coalition" is made up of very prominent left wing religious groups,organizations and unions who support illegal immigration.

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) (www.chirla.org): Formed in 1986 to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles, CHIRLA promotes coalition-building, advocacy, community education and organizing to empower immigrants and their allies to build a more just society.

Center for Community Change (www.communitychange.org): The Center for Community Change's project, The Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), consists of organizing networks, statewide immigrant rights coalitions, and faith-based and low-income groups as well as partnerships with national organizations to support immigration reform and immigrant rights.

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) (www.icirr.org): In partnership with member organizations, the Coalition educates and organizes immigrant and refugee communities to assert their rights; promotes citizenship and civic participation; monitors, analyzes, and advocates on immigrant-related issues; and, informs the general public about the contributions of immigrants and refugees.

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition (www.miracoalition.org): The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), in partnership with over 100 member organizations, works to advocate for the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees across Massachusetts and New England. MIRA advances this mission through education, training, leadership development, organizing, policy analysis and advocacy.

National Association for Latin and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) (www.nalacc.org): NALACC is a network of Latin American and Caribbean immigrant-led organizations working to raise the quality of life in their communities, both in the United States and in countries of origin. Through NALACC, we seek to build transnational leadership and immigrant civic participation in order to advocate for policies that will address the root causes of migration, while at the same time reforming U.S. immigration policies to make them more humane and effective.

National Capitol Immigration Coalition (NCIC) (www.ncic-metro.org): The National Capital Immigration Coalition brings together immigrant communities from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. Its 50+ organizations – including the Washington Catholic Archdiocese and other religious institutions, major Latino, African, and Asian organizations, and unions like the Laborers International, UNITE-HERE, and SEIU – brought more than half a million people to the National Mall on April 10 but also included smaller regional events from marches through downtown Salisbury to rallies on Virginia Beach. National Day Laborers Organizing Network (www.ndlon.org): NDLON is composed of 30 community-based organizations that work with day laborers in different capacities to advance the human, labor, and civil rights of day workers throughout the United States and to strengthen and expand the work of local day laborer organizing groups.

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) (www.nakasec.org): NAKASEC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes political and civic participation among Korean Americans, advocates for the civil rights of Korean Americans and works to raise cultural awareness as well as issues pertinent to the Korean American community.

New American Opportunity Campaign (NAOC)/Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) (www.cirnow.org): NAOC was founded in 2004 as a national campaign to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Since that time, NAOC has coordinated nationwide actions resulting in over 800 grassroots events in 45 states.

New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) (www.thenyic.org): NYIC is an umbrella advocacy organization for approximately 200 groups in New York State that work directly with immigrants, refugees, and asylees. The NYIC's membership includes immigrant rights advocates, immigrant community leaders and service providers, numerous community-based ethnic and non-profit human service organizations, and leaders from labor, academia and the legal professions.

Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) (Woodburn, OR) (www.pcun.org): PCUN works closely with a wide variety of local and national organizations to promote legalization for undocumented workers and to ensure immigrants' rights both federally and in Oregon.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) (www.seiu.org): With 1.8 million members nationwide, SEIU has been working with our coalition partners in 33 states to educate and mobilize members in support of sensible immigration reform that will help raise standards for all working people. UNITE HERE! (www.unitehere.org): With more than 440,000 active members and more than 400,000 retirees throughout North America, UNITE HERE's diverse membership includes a high percentage of immigrant workers who labor primarily in the hotel, restaurant, textile, apparel, and hospitality industries.

ping