Wikipedia
César Chávez on Immigration

César Estrada Chávez (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993), born in Yuma, Arizona, was an American farm worker of Mexican descent, labor leader, and civil rights activist. With Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers. He is hailed as one of the greatest American civil rights leaders. His birthday has become a holiday in eight U.S. states. Many parks, cultural centers, libraries, schools, and streets have been named in his honor in cities across the United States.

The UFW during Chávez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration. Nevertheless, César Chávez and Dolores Huerta fought a federal law that prohibited hiring illegal immigrants in 1973.

Concerns that illegal migrant labor would undermine UFW strike campaigns led to a number of controversial events, which the UFW describes as anti-strikebreaking events, but which have also been interpreted as being anti-immigrant. In 1969, Chávez and members of the UFW marched through the Imperial and Coachella Valleys (in California) to the border of Mexico to protest growers' use of illegal immigrants as strikebreakers. Joining him on the march were both Reverend Ralph Abernathy and U.S. Senator Walter Mondale. In its early years, Chávez and the UFW went so far as to report illegal aliens to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, those who served as strikebreaking replacement workers, as well as those who refused to unionize.

In 1973, the United Farm Workers set up a "wet line" along the United States-Mexico border to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering the United States illegally and potentially undermining the UFW's unionization efforts.

For the complete text, and all the footnotes, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Ch%C3%A1vez