WASHINGTON, DC – An estimated crowd of more than 200,000 trooped to the nation’s capital on Sunday to push Congress and President Barack Obama to keep their promise to enact a just and humane comprehensive immigration reform for new American families, on the same day that Congress was voting on a bill that overhauled the health care system.
"We want President Obama to keep his promise and fight hard to make immigration reform a reality this year. The window of opportunity for reform [this year] is still open, but Congress needs to swing into action right away if reform is to happen this year," organizers of "March for America" said in a statement.
Among those who participated in the march are Filipinos from Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC and the surrounding states of Virginia and Maryland.
"This is a great day. Initially, we expected only about 75,000 to attend but the number has more than doubled. The President must come through with his promise before. Our community wants Congress to act this year," said Karen Narasaki, executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a national organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil and human rights of the Asian American community.
New York participants came aboard more than 200 buses, and joined fellow marchers at the National Mall for what is dubbed as "March for America: Change Takes Courage" event. Nearly 1,000 buses from at least 25 states came to DC to make their voices heard.
"Today’s crowd, hundreds of thousands strong, was testament to the depth of emotion and sense of urgency felt across the country at the gridlock that has afflicted Washington for years, preventing it from reforming our immigration system so that it serves the national interest and reflects the values that we hold dear as a nation," said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. NYIC worked with other organizations in New York to bring more than 10,000 New Yorkers to the march.
The marchers delivered a crystal clear message: The time for talk, promises and waiting is over.
According to March for America, the marchers are a microcosm of the millions of Americans who want Congress to finally fix our broken immigration system. Americans want their government to get to work on the country’s toughest problems and expect their elected officials to deliver.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer spoke on a conference call with the New York contingent en route to Washington and thanked them for spending the Sunday in DC to call on the government officials to push immigration reform forward. He also apologized for not being present in the march because of "a family event that has been planned way before."
Sen. Schumer and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) have both moved forward to jump-start the legislative process by releasing a comprehensive immigration reform framework for the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
"We are encouraged by their commitment to reaching a bi-partisan consensus to urgently achieve needed reform," Narasaki told the Asian Journal. "The need for this reform is especially pressing for Asian Pacific Americans as nearly 60 per cent of are foreign born, approximately 1 in 10 is undocumented, and millions of our close family members wait abroad for permission to reunite with their families."
Asian immigrants – particularly Filipinos – face immigration backlogs. They also face long waits for both temporary and permanent employment-based visas.
"Our case is unique because of this, and this is also one of the reasons why we are here. The Filipino community is affected by this issue on immigration because we are greatly affected by the immigration backlogs," said Nerissa Nabua-Alegretti, a Filipino-American community leader from Chicago. She and her group drove more than 15 hours to be in the march.
Alegretti said that because of the huge visa backlog, Filipinos have the longest waiting time for petitions of relatives in the Philippines.
"Sen. Schumer has been steadfast in his commitment to family immigration and is an original cosponsor of the Reuniting Families Act. Newcomers who immigrate via family visas constribute significantly to the US economy and enhance our nation’s social fabric," Narasaki added.
The AAJC believes that there should be legislation that would bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, providing a more orderly and sensible immigrant worker program, ensuring that close family members of US citizens and legal permanent residents do not have to wait unreasonable lengths of time to reunite with their families.
Famous personalities and politicians such as Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, and an array of African-American leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered their speeches before the huge crowd, eliciting chants of "Yes, we can" and Si, se puede.
Among the politicians who took the stage, the loudest cheers were reserved for Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez, one of the authors of HR 4321 – also known as the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act".
"We’ve waited long enough. Just because we turn our cheek, doesn’t mean we should turn away from what’s right. Just because we’ve been patient, doesn’t mean we can wait forever," Gutierrez said.
In a videotaped message broadcast via large television screens near the main stage, President Obama delivered a short statement where he reiterated his unwavering commitment to achieving comprehensive immigration reform and endorsed the Schumer-Graham bipartisan framework.
"I will do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue to finally fix our broken immigration system," the president pledged.
"We will be tracking their progress and working to ensure that the bill they craft includes important provisions, including an inclusive legalization program, strong family unity provisions, a revamping of detention and deportation policies, full restoration of due process, and protections for native-born and immigrant workers," Hong added.
She also called on the Obama administration to "reverse the Bush-era enforcement policies and practices that his administration has embraced."
"These are policies that tear families and communities apart, that contradict to the core the President’s stated commitment to reform, and that fail, tragically, to provide a real solution for our broken immigration system," Hong added.
Some demonstrators were disappointed there hasn’t been more action a year into Obama’s term.
‘’I understand it may not all be his (Obama’s) fault,’’ said Manuel Bettran, a 21-year-old college student from Chicago. ‘’I am frustrated. I really wish not just him, but everybody, would take it more seriously. ‘’
Bettran arrived in Washington on Sunday morning after a 13-hour bus ride. Like many, he had a personal connection to the issue. His parents were once illegal immigrants but were able to take advantage of an amnesty in the 1980s.
‘’Fortunately, they were able to become citizens during the last amnesty, but I know many people that weren’t that lucky,’’ said the American-born Bettran, adding that his brother was never able to gain legal status and had to leave the US.
Lawmakers failed to agree in 2006 and 2007 when they last tried to overhaul the immigration system, and the political climate is even tougher now. (with AP wire reports)
( Published March 24, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1 )
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