About 150 students -- including some from Washington and Lincoln middle schools and Vista and Rancho Buena Vista high schools -- gathered near the Vista High campus early today and began a march to Cal State San Marcos.

By 9:30 a.m., as the crowd approached the city limits, sheriff's deputies at closed off the eastbound lanes of South Santa Fe Avenue, diverting traffic onto Mar Vista Drive.

There are no sidealks on the stretch of South Santa Fe that links Vista and San Marcos.

Several students in the group carried Mexican flags and protest signs, as they blew horns and shouted to passing motorists. A few students also held American flags.

Tina Jillings, a parent and a founder of the Coalition for Justice, Peace and Dignity -- a local Latino advocy group -- stopped to speak with the students before they began marching.

Jillings told the crowd that if there were any students who did not know why they were protesting, they should come speak with her so she could educate them about HR4437.

"We want them to know why they're protesting," Jillings said. "It's not just about civil disobedience -- this affects their lives."

She also urged the crowd not to curse, throw objects or be disprectful.

"They need to not look like illiterate thugs out there," said Jillings, who returned shortly after the march began to pass out more American flags to the crowd.

Deputies trailed the group in patrol cars.

"We're just controlling the locals and making a safe route for the students to go into San Marcos," said Sheriff's Lt. Hernando Torres.

Another adult who stopped to speak with the marchers was Vista resident Marcos Mikelatos, who said he was a Desert Storm veteran who had been upset by some of the recent protests.

"They're coming at us with anger, not with understanding" said Mikelatos, adding that over the years he has helped four Mexican families obtain legal status. "These marches aren't a positive message."