Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    California
    Posts
    65,443

    As Obama sworn in, immigration activists plan Chicago march to protest his policies

    By Antonio Olivo Tribune reporter
    5:46 p.m. CST, January 20, 2013
    Chicago Tribune


    Ana Munoz, 15, far left, looks over a sign that her brother Johnny, 10, is working on. Their mother, Paula, far right, is supervising at a Little Village church as the family joins other immigrant rights activists in making signs for a march Monday over President Barack Obama's immigration policiies. (José M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune / January 20, 2013)

    As President Barack Obama gets sworn in for his second term Monday, immigration activists in Chicago plan a march downtown to protest administration policies that have led to a record number of deportations.

    The president has pledged to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority during the next few months, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been meeting toward a possible deal.

    But that's not enough for activists in Chicago who want the administration to slow the number of deportations, which reached 410,000 for the year ending last October.

    "President Obama cannot talk about human rights if he doesn't stop the deportation of human beings whose families are being torn apart," the Rev. Jose Landaverde, a Little Village pastor, said during a news conference last week outside the downtown offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    Monday's march is set to begin at 11 a.m. at the Daley Center and end with a rally at Federal Plaza.

    As they call for a moratorium on deportations, organizers plan to highlight a case in which 34 workers at an Elk Grove Village pallet company were arrested by federal immigration agents in November. Those workers are now in proceedings that could lead to deportation.

    The arrests sparked a series of small protests in recent weeks, leading to a meeting last week among ICE officials, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Chicago, and immigration activists.

    ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said federal agents executing a search warrant in an unrelated criminal investigation learned that the workers at Chicago Pallet Service Inc. were in the country illegally. She declined to discuss the nature of the initial investigation. Gutierrez said the probe involved money laundering.

    Gutierrez and immigration activists met with ICE officials in the hope of persuading them to suspend the arrested workers' cases under what is known as prosecutorial discretion.

    Montenegro said ICE officials agreed to consider the request "on a case-by-case basis." She added that the agency is focused on "sensible, effective enforcement" that prioritizes deporting hardened criminals and repeat offenders over less urgent cases.

    As Obama sworn in, immigration activists plan Chicago march to protest his policies - chicagotribune.com
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    working4change
    Guest

  3. #3
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    California
    Posts
    65,443

    Immigration activists march in Chicago, call for immediate action

    Video at the source link.
    ~~~

    January 21, 2013
    Karen Jordan

    January 21, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- About 200 immigration activists rallied in downtown Chicago on Monday as President Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term.

    Obama said immigration reform remains an issue that needs attention. The group that marched from the Daley Plaza to Federal Plaza agrees. They protested policies in the Obama administration that have led to a record number of deportations. The group wants a moratorium on deportations, which numbered 410,000 as of October 2012.

    "We are here to request that he stop deportations and we deserve respect," Elsie Feliciano, immigration activist, said.

    Undocumented immigrant Tania Unzuete said she feels immigration reform should be the president's top priority.

    "He said that there needed to be faith in America and that we need to work for justice in the community and that's exactly what I'm doing," Unzuete said.

    President Obama was re-elected with 71 percent of the Hispanic vote. ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington says there are several issues on the table for the president's second term: gun control, gay rights and climate change. She said his best chance to make progress is with immigration reform.

    "He's got a mandate and that vote also sent a message to republicans. They need to come to the table on immigration reform. The time is right and there's a real opportunity here," Washington said.

    Washington also says fiscal reform will trump all the other issues and will be a top priority for the president.

    Immigration activists march in Chicago, call for immediate action | abc7chicago.com
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •