Eager to turn the tide of anti-illegal-immigration fervor sweeping the country and, increasingly, Maryland's General Assembly, a group of about a dozen lawmakers -- many of whom are immigrants themselves -- formed the New Americans Caucus today.

They plan to counter bills they see as "divisive" and "hate-filled" and promote initiatives to help legal immigrants become citizens and increase their civic involvement. The group includes Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, who was born in El Salvador, Saqib Ali, originally from Pakistan, and others with roots in Jamaica, the Ukraine, India and other countries, said Gutierrez.

"We recognize that the United States is a land of immigrants," she said in an interview. "I don't think that the anti-immigrant rhetoric is producing positive legislation. ... But we don't just want to focus on fighting bad bills. We want to make sure that there's an acknowledgment of the positive issues that are being proposed."