USA: Thousands rally for immigration reform in Washington, D.C. as Congress works on comprehensive bill

Record ID: 215612

  • Title: USA: Thousands rally for immigration reform in Washington, D.C. as Congress works on comprehensive bill
  • Date: 10th April 2013
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, DC, USA (APRIL 10, 2013) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF THOUSANDS OF DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING TOWARDS U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING GENERAL VIEW OF U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE GATHERED FLAG
  • Embargoed: 25th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA43TWDV6TTGKVTB6NLDOMFJFXS
  • Story Text: Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday (April 10) outside the U.S. Capitol to rally for immigration reform as lawmakers and Senate negotiators were putting the finishing touches on a bipartisan bill.
    Waving flags and chanting, demonstrators called for comprehensive reform.

    "Every day that passes with Congress failing to address our broken immigration system 1,100 families are torn apart and workers suffer abuse and children are traumatized by the loss of their parents," one demonstrator shouted from a stage outside the Capitol.
    New Jersey's Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said immigration reform would happen this year.

    "(I am here) to stand with my colleagues in the House of Representatives in Congress to say that we will make comprehensive immigration reform a reality this year," Menendez said.
    Immigration reform has gathered strength in Congress following President Barack Obama's re-election in November. Hispanics, the fastest-growing voter bloc, heavily favoured Democrats over Republicans in the elections.
    Republicans have since started to get behind immigration reform, an effort that had been mainly embraced by Democrats.
    The linchpin of the immigration bill would end deportation fears for most of the approximately 11 million people who are living in the United States illegally, many from Central America and Asia. The legislation would eventually put many of them on a path to citizenship, if further progress was made in securing the southwestern border with Mexico.
    Isaias Mercado of Mexico described immigrants' situation as living in a 'gilded prison'.

    "We are in a gilded prison, but it's worth it. From here, we support all of our families in Mexico and different countries like Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala. We support them from here and in a certain way, we are sharing our lives with our people," he said.
    Gonzalo Lima of Ecuador said Wednesday's rally was a day of hope.

    "That the American government understand that immigrants contribute with their labour. We contribute to the economy. It is important to fight for the unification of families. To have your parents here and the rest of the family in their countries of origin represents a very large social effect. We are trying to make people sensitive to that. Today is a day of abundant happiness and hope," he said.
    The rally of about 100 organizations is sponsored by immigration reform groups and unions, including the United Auto Workers and the Service Employees International Union.
    Immigration legislation in the Democrat-controlled Senate will include an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, bolstered border security and ways for business to meet the need for both high-skilled and low-skilled workers.
    A bipartisan group from the Republican-led House of Representatives is working on its own version of a bill that also includes ways to earn citizenship.
    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest business group, and the AFL-CIO, the largest labour federation, reached an agreement on a guest-worker program in late March. The accord cleared the way for the writing of a full bill in Congress.
    If the Senate and House bills pass their respective chambers, they would have to be reconciled before a final version is voted on and then sent to Obama for signing into law.
    A bill that gives undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship has a better chance of passing the Democrat-controlled Senate.
    It is unclear whether such a bill would pass the House. A number of Republicans there generally support a path to legal status but are reluctant to embrace a plan for citizenship because they say it rewards people who broke the law.
    For Diana Botero of Colombia, immigration reform is the right thing to do.

    "We are not bloodsuckers. We contribute a lot more than many American citizens who do have documents."
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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