More than 80 New Mexico residents are in Washington, D.C., for today's March for America rally, a national mobilization to push Congress and the Obama administration to pass immigration reform legislation.

Somos un Pueblo Unido, the Santa Fe pro-immigrant rights organization, raised enough money to take 65 of its members, including eight Española High School students and 28 students from Santa Fe Community College, The University of New Mexico and other campuses around the state, said Marcela Díaz, the group's executive director.

El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos in Albuquerque, a Latino immigrant rights organization, is sending a 20-member delegation.

Aracely Enríquez, 20, a Spanish and psychology student at Santa Fe Community College, said she decided to join the march in Washington to show support for the undocumented student population. "We have students who are intelligent, good citizens ... and it's just not fair that they can't achieve their dreams," she said.

On Saturday morning, Enríquez was on her way to a pre-rally meeting with hundreds of people in a Washington church, where they were going to discuss strategies to garner more support from their communities once they return to New Mexico.

Elizabeth Castro, 24, a Somos un Pueblo Unido Worker's Committee member, said she and representatives brought with them posters reading "Paz," "Unidad" and "Esperanza," which were written by those who couldn't make the trip. They will also be carrying a New Mexico flag, she said.

En route to the train station in Baltimore on Saturday, she said, "There's a big movement. You can see it. The airport was full of Latino travelers. People are supporting us, and you can feel the force."

Juan López, 40, another Worker's Committee member, said the delegation worked hard to gather enough funds for the trip. Students in Española sold Frito pies. Two weekends ago, the committee held a barbecue in Santa Fe to sell carne asada tacos and raffle off a television and a blender. They raised $2,500, López said.

He's hoping to meet with New Mexico's congressional delegation Monday "to tell them that today is the right time (for immigration reform) and that we cannot wait any longer." López said, "We're going to give them a stack of signatures, photographs and petitions written by our colleagues who stayed behind in New Mexico."

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.