Washington (CNN) — Tens of thousands of people turned out on Washington’s National Mall on Sunday to support the Obama administration in its next big battle, a renewed effort to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.
Speaking by video to the crowd, President Obama said he would do “everything in my power” to get a bipartisan deal within the year.
“You know as well as I do that this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight,” Obama said. “But if we work together across ethnic, state and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.”
Obama’s appearance was followed by comments from Gustavo Torres, executive director of the Baltimore-based immigrant advocacy group CASA de Maryland. Torres told the crowd, “Mr. President, we are going to hold you accountable.”
Though overshadowed by the historic debate on health care taking place in the nearby halls of Congress, Sunday’s rally set the stage for a revival of efforts to reshape U.S. immigration law. The issue has been largely sidelined since a similar push by the Bush administration failed in 2007.
“You are a spectacular sight,” Ali Noorani, chairman of the coalition that organized the demonstration, told the crowd. Noorani said the rally had drawn more than 150,000 people “from across the country, and we are demanding comprehensive immigration reform now.”
Noorani’s figure could not be verified immediately. The crowd packed more than two blocks of the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Then-President George W. Bush supported a bipartisan effort to overhaul U.S. immigration laws four years ago, proposing to set up a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million people in the United States without authorization. But those measures were criticized as establishing amnesty for illegal immigrants, and legislation Bush supported died with a Senate filibuster — one led by members of his own party but joined by more than a dozen Democrats.
Sunday’s event followed last week’s publication of a new plan backed by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. The plan would create a “tough but fair” path to legalization, as well as a temporary worker program and tighter border controls, the sponsors wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece Friday.
Obama called the senators’ plans promising and said it should be the basis for moving forward. He called on Congress to act on that plan at the earliest possible opportunity.
Obama’s push on immigration also helped secure a key vote for his health care bill. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, announced his support for the bill after receiving a commitment to move forward on immigration “as soon as possible.”
“The wait is over. The time is now,” Gutierrez told Sunday’s rally. “We’re ready to turn our hope into victory.”
Douglas Interiano’s speech at the RITA press conference Friday, March 19, in Dallas, before the Texas Caravan for America departed for DC.
Good evening, my name is Douglas Interiano and I am the executive director of Proyecto Inmigrante in Fort Worth. I am also a member of Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, which goes by RITA. RITA is a statewide, multi-sector alliance formed in 2009 to build support for immigration reform.
Today, more than 300 Texans from El Paso, Austin, Dallas, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley, all members of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA), will travel to Washington, DC, by bus as the Texas Caravan for America.
The Texans will participate in the March for America rally on Sunday, March 21, 2010, which is expected to draw 100,000 participants from the four corners of the United States to the National Mall.
We are making this long, probably uncomfortable trip of 28 hours, spending our own money and sacrificing work time and family time because reforming the broken immigration system is urgent.
As immigrants and friends of immigrants, we want to send a clear message to President Obama, his administration and our elected officials to show leadership on comprehensive immigration reform.
We are frustrated that promises are not being fulfilled on this subject. Politicians have used immigration reform as a political punching bag for too long. We need to remind them that real people, families, children are at stake here.
We cannot afford to wait any longer to resolve the situation of millions who are living in the shadows of society instead of contributing fully to their adopted country. We must help employers connect legally with workers who want to work. And we owe it to children who came through no fault of their own to this country to give them the education and the future that any child deserves. Immigrants have made Texas a great state throughout its history. We cannot turn our backs on immigrants now.
But the fight for immigration reform is about much more than immigration. It’s about leveling the playing field and securing good paying jobs for all workers. It’s about helping us out of this economic crisis by increasing the tax base, allowing immigrants to contribute fully. It’s about security –national security, border enforcement and community safety. And, it’s about living up to our best values, not stooping down to our worst instincts. Immigration reform is good for the economy, for security, and for families.
Louie Gilot, Border Network for Human Rights, El Paso, Texas, (915) 217-3621, lgilot@bnhr.org
**Press Advisory**
“TEXAS CARAVAN FOR AMERICA” TO GO TO DC IN SUPPORT OF IMMIGRATION REFORM
More than 300 people, including 40 El Pasoans, to travel 28 hours by bus to join thousands in national rally on the Nation Mall March 21
More than 300 Texans from El Paso, Dallas, Ft Worth, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley will congregate in Dallas on Friday to board 5 buses and three passenger vans for a long trip to the nation’s capital. The participants will join tens of thousands of others from all around the nation for a massive rally Sunday, March 21, in Washington, D.C. The rally, called March for America, aims to remind the government and Congress of the dire need for comprehensive immigration reform and to ask that our elected officials show leadership on this important issue.
The organizer of the Texas Caravan for America is the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA), a statewide, multi-sector effort to build support for immigration reform and give Texas a voice in the ongoing debate. (El Paso’s Border Network for Human Rights is a founding member of RITA.) RITA members, including DREAM Act students, will march on Washington, D.C., to demand immigration reform and economic justice for all Americans. RITA’s vision of reform includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections, and of an American that’s back to work, with a fair balance between Main Street and Wall Street.
“We will come together as one voice on the National Mall for a strong America – for families, for workers, for businesses, and for security,” said Adriana Cadena, RITA Coordinator.
Contacts: Lori Stafford, Welcoming Immigrants Network, Dallas, Texas, (214) 649.2233, lori.stafford@gulfstream.com; and Louie Gilot, Border Network for Human Rights, El Paso, Texas, (915) 217-3621, lgilot@bnhr.org
**Press conference: 6 p.m., Friday March 19, 2010**
“TEXAS CARAVAN FOR AMERICA” TO GO TO DC IN SUPPORT OF IMMIGRATION REFORM
More than 300 people from all parts of Texas to travel 28 hours by bus to join thousands in national rally on the Nation Mall March 21
More than 300 Texans from El Paso, Dallas, Ft Worth, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley will congregate in Dallas on Friday to board 5 buses and three passenger vans for a long trip to the nation’s capital. The participants will join tens of thousands of others from all around the nation for a massive rally Sunday, March 21, in Washington, D.C. The rally, called March for America, aims to remind the government and Congress of the dire need for comprehensive immigration reform and to ask that our elected officials show leadership on this important issue.
The organizer of the Texas Caravan for America is the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA), a statewide, multi-sector effort to build support for immigration reform and give Texas a voice in the ongoing debate. RITA members will march on Washington, D.C., to demand immigration reform and economic justice for all Americans. RITA’s vision of reform includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections, and of an American that’s back to work, with a fair balance between Main Street and Wall Street.
“We will come together as one voice on the National Mall for a strong America – for families, for workers, for businesses, and for security,” said Adriana Cadena, RITA Coordinator.
**TEXAS CARAVAN FOR AMERICA PRESS CONFERENCE**
Where: Lovers Lane United Methodist Church, 9200 Inwood Road (corner NW Hwy and Inwood Rd),
Dallas, TX 75220
When: 6 p.m., Friday March 19, 2010
Who: Organizers from El Paso, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley; Travelers with personal stories of hardship due to the broken immigration system; Representative from the office of United Methodist Bishop Earl Bledsoe; Religious leaders; Elected officials (TBA); DREAM Act students from several states.
Visuals: Dozens of participants arriving in buses from El Paso, Ft Worth and elsewhere.
People are angry and disappointed that there hasn’t been significant change in immigration policy and this frustration was clear in people’s voices, signs and calls for reform at the convention. But more powerful was the general sense of urgency for the need to take action and the determination for change. That’s why more than 700 Texans came together in Austin to rally on Saturday for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Hundreds signed onto a letter urging President Obama to use his leadership and work with Congress to pass CIR that would unify families, respect civil liberties and human rights, and end the raids & deportations. The goal is to get 50,000 signatures on the letter, which will be delivered to the White House during the immigration reform march that’s being put together by RI4A.
Families testified about the unjust separation of families due to deportation & detention. Community organizations and advocates voiced their concerns about the erosion of due process, workers’ rights and basic human rights in the current immigration system. Police officers discussed the troubling 287(g) program and why they have refused to take part. Students spoke out the lack of affordability and access to higher education for undocumented immigrants. Keynote speaker, Ali Noorani, put the fight for immigration reform in a national context:
About 100 community members from the Valley attended the event as part of the Equal Voice Network, a coalition of groups working for immigration reform, along with housing, economic, education & worker justice:
The message from Texas is clear: COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM NOW! It’s good for the economy, good for security and good for families!
Inmigrantes de Austin se reúnen para exigir reforma
(Jay Janner, ¡ahora sí!) Lizbeth Salazar en el Capitolio el 1 de mayo, 2009.
El objetivo de la Convención en Austin es llegar a un mensaje y objetivos comunes para presentarlo en Washington.
Tania Lara, ¡ahora sí!
Si estás interesado en que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe una reforma a las leyes de inmigración, el sábado 20 de febrero es tu oportunidad para exigir ese cambio en la Convención de Texas por la Integración del Inmigrante.
Este llamado por una reforma reunirá a más de 500 personas de todas las ciudades de Texas que luchan por una reforma al sistema de inmigración que beneficie la economía, la seguridad y a las familias del estado.
“Es un evento sin precedentes porque no sólo confluyen organizaciones a favor de los inmigrantes así como las familias inmigrantes, sino también representantes de negocios, sindicatos, funcionarios electos, académicos y autoridades”, explica Fernando García, fundador de la Alianza de Texas por la Reforma de Inmigración (RITA) y director ejecutivo de la Red Fronteriza por los Derechos Humanos.
Los organizadores recomiendan que las familias que anhelan un cambio en la reforma de inmigración, acudan a la Convención vestidos de blanco y con banderas de Estados Unidos y de Texas.
“Si no participamos, lo más seguro es que no pase nada”, dice García y agrega: “En Estados Unidos, las cosas suceden conforme la gente lo demanda y la única forma en que Washington lo entienda, es que la gente participe”.
El objetivo de la Convención, explica García, es llegar a un mensaje y objetivos comunes para presentarlo en Washington, debido a que Texas es el segundo estado con más inmigrantes, el de mayor extensión en la frontera y el que tiene más relaciones económicas y diplomáticas con México.
Group to educate on comprehensive immigration reform
2/17/2010 5:28 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
A group hoping to see comprehensive immigration reform pass this year has asked others to join them in calling on national and state leaders to tackle the issue.
Caroline Keating-Guerra of the Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition knows that getting immigration reform passed is possible.
“We want to show there is and we do have the power to bring in the votes to make sure this is passed and we can bring votes from Texas, our Texas Congress people,” Keating-Guerra said.
About 1,000 Texans, including business, religious and elected leaders, as well as immigrants, will meet Saturday in Austin to gain support and educate people about comprehensive immigration reform.
Mike Seifert, the Equal Voice for America’s Families coordinator in the Rio Grande Valley, asked for a moment of silence Saturday for those who have died crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.
AUSTIN, Feb. 21 – Rio Grande Valley community groups are to mount a postcard campaign to try to persuade U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to back comprehensive immigration reform.
Details of the campaign, which will be spearheaded by the Equal Voice for America’s Families network, were announced at a major pro-immigration reform rally held in Austin on Saturday. More than 100 Valley residents attended the event.
“We are going to mount our postcard campaign as soon as our Cesar Chavez march is over on the 27th of this month,” said Martha Sanchez, a community activist with La Unión del Pueblo Entero.
“We know Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison are not supporting comprehensive immigration reform at this point. We need them to listen to the people of the Rio Grande Valley.”
Sanchez said thousands of Valley families are negatively impacted by the nation’s current immigration laws.
“A lot of our families are suffering right now because of our broken immigration system,” Sanchez said. “We want to have a strong America. We need to keep our families together.”
LUPE is a member of the Equal Voice network. Other groups in the network include Proyecto Azteca, Proyecto Juan Diego, Project ARISE, the START Center, SCAN, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, the Brownsville Community Health Center, and the Southwest Workers’ Union.
Mike Seifert, the Equal Voice coordinator in the Valley, referenced Cornyn and Hutchison in his speech at the Austin rally. In an interview with the Guardian afterwards, Seifert said there is a huge contrast between the policy position of the Valley’s delegation in the U.S. House, namely Reps. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and the two U.S. senators that represent the region.
“The congressmen know our position and support us on immigration reform. But, the two senators represent us also and they need to work for us. They once again need to be reminded of that. The purpose of the postcard campaign is to say, here we are and we are serious about this,” Seifert said.
The rally in Austin was held at the Travis County Expo Center and was attended by more than 700 people. It was organized by the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance and titled the “Texas Convention on Immigration Reform.
The purpose of the event, said Project ARISE Director Ramona Casas, was to send a “clear message” to President Obama and Texas senators and representatives that families, businesses and communities across the state cannot wait any longer for the federal government to fix the broken immigration system.
“This was an important convention for ARISE to be involved in because it allowed us to share the stories of the immigration community in the Rio Grande Valley,” Casas said. “We wanted to share our testimonies and let the legislators know that we need immigration reform now.”
Casas confirmed that Project ARISE will be part of the Cornyn-Hutchison postcard campaign. “We will not be quiet about this. We want immigration reform right now,” she said.
Two Valley residents who shared their stories on how the current immigration system can wreck family life were Alicia De Zavala from Edinburg and Laura Madrid from Port Isabel.
“I am a U.S. citizen with three jobs and I have just started my own painting and remodeling business with my husband, Margarito,” De Zavala explained. “However, my husband is from Mexico and does not have his documents. If I lose him, what am I going to do? He is a very good man. Why take the good men? Take the narcotraficantes people.”
In his speech, Seifert asked for a moment of silence for those who have died crossing the Chihuahuan Desert and the Rio Grande in order to get to the United States.
“Why did these people die? Because we do not have a way of facilitating immigration. We want the labor but we do not seem to want to do the right thing by them. It is unconscionable,” Seifert said later.
Seifert pointed out that more than 3,000 people have died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since 1996. He contrasted this number to the 221 people who died attempting to cross the Berlin Wall in the 43 years it stood. “That is a conservative figure. We do not know how many people have died in the desert. It could be 4,000, 5,000, 6,000. It is a tragedy and a travesty at the same time,” he said.
Other speakers at the rally included Ali Noorani, director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C., Sam Guzman, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, Eliseo Medina, vice president of the Service Employees International Union.
MORE THAN 700 TEXANS GATHER TO ASK FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Diverse sectors of Texas represented in state-wide convention in Austin
Austin, TX – More than 700 community members, advocates, business leaders, people of faith, and elected officials gathered today (February 20, 1-5 p.m.) at the Texas Convention for Immigrant Integration at the Travis County Expo Center in Austin to support comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. Participants sought to send a clear message to President Obama and to Texas Senators and Representatives that families, businesses, and communities across Texas cannot wait any longer for the federal government to fix the broken immigration system. Delaying action is bad for the nation and it’s bad for Texas.
Participants agreed to continue their efforts past the convention with a campaign to gather 50,000 signatures on a letter to President Obama urging him to take up immigration reform this year. Today, in a convention center decorated with photographs of loved ones that audience members had pinned on walls, speakers from all backgrounds shared their views that immigration reform is good for the economy, for security, and for families.
Eliseo Medina, Executive Vice-President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU,) said, “We need an immigration system that works for America’s workers. For too long, our nation’s immigration system has fueled discrimination and exploitation of workers. It has driven down wages and working conditions. And it has failed to live up to our nation’s values. We now have an opportunity to change course. That is why Change to Win and the AFL-CIO have come together to create a unified labor framework for immigration reform that addresses the needs of our nation’s workers, families and communities. This framework is about moving America forward. We are a nation that respects hard work, family and the pursuit of the American Dream. Our immigration system must hold true to these principles.”
El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said he is one of many law enforcement officials who are opposed to the practice of deputizing local police officers to serve as immigration agents and hope immigration reform puts an end to it. “Having local law enforcement enforcing immigration law tears down the trust and respect we need to keep the community safe. As for immigration reform, I’d like to see it come to a resolution,” he said.
Pastor Lynn Godsey, President of the Hispanic Evangelical Alliance of Dallas-Fort Worth, said, “Not only does the Constitution of the United States uphold the protection of an individual’s civil liberties and human rights, but God has much to say about the treatment of the sojourner in the Bible. As people of faith, we are called to ground our conduct and treatment of others in what God has revealed through scripture, in and through his Son, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, we are instructed to ‘not mistreat the foreigner, for at one time we too were such.’ In the New Testament, Jesus took it to another level in stating that we love our neighbor and provide for his or her needs, for He said: “I was a stranger (foreigner) and you invited me in”. As such, our views on immigration are to be grounded and reared inBiblical Revelation. It is a call from Christ to all of us that are His followers to treat the alien, the stranger the immigrant with fairness, justice and hospitality.”
Attendees also heard the personal stories of regular people who were personally affected by bad immigration policies. Amelia Hernandez said she was taking care of her three nephews because their parents were deported. “They don’t know the damage they cause to children, separating them from their parents. My nephews can’t fall asleep; they cry all the time; they don’t want to eat. They want to be with their parents and they feel abandoned. Because of this, I think legalization should be a priority for the president and his administration.”
College students who support the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow undocumented youth to adjust their status so they can attend college, also had their say. Among them was Zelene Pineda who came to the U.S. with her parents when she was 8 years old. Undocumented children do not qualify for many of the scholarships that other students take for granted and often struggle to pay tuition. “The situation for undocumented students on the border is even more limiting,” Pineda, who lives in El Paso, said. “You’d have to pass Border Patrol checkpoints to go to school in San Antonio, for instance, so you don’t go there. You see Mexico (from El Paso), but you can’t go there. The foreign students from Mexico have benefits like in-state-tuition. But even though you are in the country, you have to pay more. On the border, you are constantly reminded of your immigration status.”
Other notable speakers included Ali Noorani, Director, National Immigration Forum, Reform Immigration for America Campaign; Pastor Mark Gonzalez, Vice President, Governmental Affairs, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC); Sam Guzman, President/CEO, Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC); andSate Rep. Carol Alvarado.
Fernando Garcia, executive director of Border Networks for Human Rights, speaks at LUPE’s Mercedes office on Friday evening. (Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)
MERCEDES, Dec. 12 – Texas needs to play a major role in the national debate on immigration reform because it has such a large number of undocumented immigrants.
That was one of the messages Fernando Garcia, executive director of El Paso-based Border Networks for Human Rights, gave in a speech to immigrant and civil rights groups on Friday evening.
The meeting, held at La Unión del Pueblo Entero’s Mercedes office, was organized to start building a network of support for comprehensive immigration reform among churches, businesses, schools and the immigrant community in the Rio Grande Valley.
Garcia disputed claims that because Texas is a Republican state it will not be listened to in Washington, D.C., during the upcoming debate on immigration reform.
“Texas is on a tipping point right now. Things are changing in many ways,” Garcia said. “For example, Texas is second in the nation for the number of undocumented immigrants. You are talking about 1.5 to 2 million undocumented people. This makes us a player in the national discussion.”
Garcia said although the economy and national security are good reasons to implement immigration reform, in Texas a key factor will be the issue of families. “You cannot separate the immigration issue from families. In Texas we have a big Hispanic family, a big Mexican family, because of our closeness to Mexico. That makes this issue alive and well.”
Garcia is going round the state encouraging immigrants’ rights groups to partner with other organizations in support of immigration reform. He said it is a strategy that can help Texas become a loud voice for change in Washington, D.C.
“By pulling different communities together we can create a stronger voice,” Garcia said. “I do not think it is going to be a problem bringing together all of the families and groups. We did not have the movement before that we have now. Religious, progressive whites, unions, businesses, we can all work together on this. It is about the economy, security and families. We have the capacity to bring in other sectors to mobilize Texas. Texas is going to be a major player.”
Garcia said the coalition-building is already happening in other parts of Texas and he is convinced it can happen in the Valley. “Law enforcement is working with the immigrant community in other parts of Texas. So are elected officials. The movement is starting,” he said.
Garcia said the Valley will be crucial in building up support for immigration reform, because of its large immigrant community. He praised the work of groups such as LUPE, ARISE, and Proyecto Libertad. These groups are members of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, unveils the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009. Garcia told the audience that Gutierrez’s bill would be the “Rolls Royce” of immigration reform bills.
“Congressman Gutierrez’s bill will kickoff the whole discussion. It is the best bill possible and our goal will be to sustain most of the sections of the bill throughout the negotiations,” Garcia said. “We know it is going to be difficult. We know there are members of Congress that are very conservative on immigration reform; they want more enforcement and little else. But, we have to start really high to actually get something decent. That is the calculus.”
Garcia also announced plans for a massive rally in support of immigration reform that will take place in Austin on Feb. 20, 2010. “This rally will tell the nation that Texas supports comprehensive immigration reform and immigrants. It is going to be huge,” he said.
Martha Sanchez, a community organizer for LUPE in Mission, said the push for immigration reform is much stronger today than it was when U.S. Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., carried such legislation in 2005 and 2006.
“I cannot remember people being this aware back then,” Sanchez said. “I sense a lot of energy this time. People are organized, people are aware. All the people in the colonias know exactly about the introduction of Congressman Gutierrez’s bill. I think it speaks very well for the organization we have already done. It gives me hope that we can do it this time. Sí, Se Puede, this time.”
ARISE stands for ‘A Resource in Serving Equality,’ and it seeks to empower Latinas in the Rio Grande Valley. Its co-founder, Ramona Casas, said her group was excited to be part of a statewide coalition to bring about immigration reform.
“We are going to mobilize the community around this issue. This is the moment. This is the time,” Casas said. “We need to motivate the people, the businesses, and the schools. This is a problem for everybody. The economy benefits from immigrants. We are a successful country that was built on the backs of immigrants.”
Juanita Valdez-Cox, director of LUPE, thanked Garcia for his “insightful” presentation. She said that while the potential for immigration reform is great in 2010, it will only happen through hard work.
“Everything depends on the amount of work we put in. We have to reach out to the business community and the religious community because we all benefit from reform. However, we only have until next April or May to get this done. After that and you get into the mid-term elections,” Valdez-Cox said.
Valdez-Cox said she was encouraged to receive calls from five or six different pastors in the past week who want LUPE’s leaders to come and speak to their congregations about immigration reform. She said she will also be targeting the small businesses community. “It is to nobody’s benefit to have so many undocumented people here. They are so productive,” Valdez-Cox said.
Gran Foro Comunitario Pro Reforma Migratoria en West
Domingo 16 de Mayo del 2010
Santa María de la Asunción
Salón San José
301 South Harrison St.
West, Texas 76691
6:00pm - 7:00pm
254-205-7203 o 254-349-3040
(Jay Janner, 
