Tony Gutierrez - The Battalion Aldo Sanez,16, a student at The Academy of Irving, sits on the shoulders of a fellow student while holding a Mexican Flag to protest in front of City Hall. Thousands of students walked out of class Tuesday to protest immigrant legislation in Congress.

Kodgek Mattison - AP Students from several Fort Worth high schools gathered Tuesday at the Tarrant County courthouse to protest.

The controversial immigration legislation before the U. S. Congress has sparked reactions all over the country, including protests in major cities. However, some believe that there has not been enough of a reaction among college students.

"I am really surprised with the fact that nowadays most Hispanics in college don't have opinions on social issues like this," said Rich Sanchez, a junior management information systems major and co-director for the Hispanic Presidents Council.

Congress passed a bill in December requiring all employers to begin using a database within six years to verify Social Security numbers of employees. It also established mandatory sentences for smuggling illegal immigrants and required the building of two-layer fences along 700 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's bill calls for the addition of 14,000 border patrol agents to the current 11,300 agents by 2011. The bill also allows for illegal immigrants who were in the U.S. before 2004 to continuing working legally for six years if they agree to pay a $1,000 fine and pass a criminal background check.

A "virtual wall" of unmanned vehicles, cameras and sensors will be authorized to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lastly, the bill allows illegal immigrants with high school diplomas or GEDs and no criminal record to enroll in a college or university or to enlist in the military.

"Historically, immigration laws have been too lenient," said Derek Lindberg, a sophomore computer science major. "Many people have become acclimated to immigrants in different cities and in the workplace."

Lindberg said the new legislation will take care of what should have been done a long time ago.

"These steps are necessary to ensure safety, especially in this time of global terrorism," he said.

The bills opponents, however, say the United States depends on immigrant labor and immigrants are a vital part of American society.

The exact number of illegal immigrants in the United States is unknown, but the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington estimates there may be as many as 12 million. Adult men make up the majority of illegal immigrants, with adult women and children following.

Illegal employees make up about 5 percent of the U.S. workforce. These jobs are mainly in the fields of agriculture, construction and sanitation.

"America was built on immigrants, but a more relevant fact is that it is being sustained by immigrants," Sanchez said.

Immigrants are taking on jobs that most Americans don't want, like jobs in the agriculture industry, he said.

"The reason immigrants are willingly putting their lives at stake is due to the potential high return on investment - work," Sanchez said.

The government should institute restrictions, fines or audits on businesses to ensure that there are no illegal immigrants working, he said. Such restrictions would greatly discourage immigrants from putting themselves in harm's way.

"If there are no jobs, there is no potential return on investment," Sanchez said. Students in a history 305 class, along with members of the University will be holding a symposium entitled "Evolution of the U.S. Southern Border: Immigration and Settlement, 1848-Present" on April 17 and 18 to discuss the immigration issue. The keynote speaker will be Oscar Martinez from the University of Arizona. Other speakers include Rogelio Saenz and Armando C. Alonzo from Texas A&M.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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