'We're Already Here'
SAN ANTONIO, May 1, 2006 — -- Marcos Salinas did something today that he has never done before -- he took a day off from work to join the march of immigration.
The native of Mexico is usually found working in a little restaurant on the banks of the San Antonio River in Texas.
He's worked at that location for 29 years, never missing his shift except for scheduled vacations.
"The Mexican national, he don't care what kind of work he do," Salinas said. "He don't care how many hours he work. He only want to take care of his family."
He is an all-American success story.
Salinas put his daughter through college while working at the restaurant. His son, Marc, who learned the value of hard work from watching his father, has been named general manager of a brand-new hotel.
"Basically, there's nothing ever going to be given to you," Marc Salinas said. "You have to go out there and get it."
After three decades at his restaurant job in Texas, Salinas calls America one of the "greatest countries to live [in]."
And that's why this man who has never missed a day of work was out marching in solidarity today, along with hundreds of thousands of immigrants in cities across the country.
"Whatever happened in the past, we are going to fix it now," Salinas said. "We're already here. ... People living here for five or seven years, how are you going to send people back? There's no way."
And he hopes lawmakers in Washington will "touch the heart" before they make any decisions about immigration reform.
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