With 1000 people marching and rallying for immigration reform, Saturday’s 10th Annual Cesar Chavez March sent a strong message that the time is now for action on immigration reform. The San Juan march and rally, which took place on April 6 at 10am, coincided with the beginning of a nation-wide week of action for immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. The week of action will culminate in a major rally in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday, April 10th.
“2012 was the dawn of a new day of political empowerment of Latino and other minority voters that has brought the light of immigration reform to the horizon,” said La Union del Pueblo Entero Executive Director Juanita Valdez-Cox.
“Latinos were instrumental in the outcome of the 2012 elections and immigration reform was a mobilizing issue. We are calling on Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to embrace this new day and support immigration reform that brings the light of justice to the Rio Grande Valley, the state of Texas, and the rest of our nation.”
While Congress works to complete a concrete immigration reform bill, which could be introduced as early as this week, the Valley is moving forward with the message that immigration reform must respect the civil and human rights of border residents.
“With high spirits and lots of energy, Saturday's march pushed us forward in our work toward humane and comprehensive immigration reform,” said LUPE Communications Coordinator John-Michael Torres.
“In the coming weeks we will work hard so that Texas Senators Cornyn and Cruz, who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, do not stand in the way of the dawning of this new day of immigrant and Latino integration by thwarting a pathway to citizenship and including more punitive border enforcement policies in an immigration reform bill.”
Check out what the media is saying about the 1000-strong march on our blog!
And for more information on the April 10th nation-wide day of action, visit www.citizenship-now.org.
