The proposal comes as a number of New Mexico cities and towns have declared themselves "sanctuaries" for immigrants living in the country illegally.

In 2008, 900 federal ICE officers conducted the largest federal worksite immigration raid in U.S. history, in Postville, Iowa. Two researchers found that Latino infants born after the raid were 24 percent more likely to be born at a low birth weight than those born before the raid.

Activists spoke to the crowd in Washington about the fear of deportations and the need to protect minorities and marginalized people. "Guerreras", "si se puede" and other phrases in Spanish were repeated in unison by demonstrators.

In Cuba, some sold everything to fund their journey to the United States, only to find themselves locked out after repeal of the so-called 'wet-foot, dry-foot policy' that once guaranteed legal permanent residency to any Cuban reaching U.S. soil. It's the latest chapter in the painful Cuban migration saga.

The announcement to scrap the benefits came as a bucket of cold water for the Cuban migrants who just arrived in the United States. As this group waits for their papers, the uncertainty grows on whether they will ever be reunited with the relatives they left on the island.

La noticia del fin de los beneficios a los migrantes de Cuba llegó como un balde de agua fría para los últimos en llegar. Este grupo espera sus papeles con la incertidumbre de si podrá reencontrarse con los familiares que dejaron en la isla.