Cesar Chavez pilgrimage set for April 14
By Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/30/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT


POMONA - In front of a group of day laborers, United Farm Workers union co-founder Dolores Huerta on Thursday urged immigrants, their children and grandchildren to lobby leaders in Congress to support immigration reform.

Huerta and immigrant-rights supporters gathered at Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, also known as the Pomona Day Labor Center, to announce the date of the sixth annual Cesar Chavez Day Pilgrimage.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. April 14 at Pomona City Hall, the march will conclude at Cesar Chavez Park, 2720 Barjud Ave.

Chavez, whom the march will honor, valued service to others and used peaceful means to bring attention to the plight of farmworkers.

Huerta recently called for families and children to participate in marches that urge for immigration reform. The march in Pomona is an opportunity to take part, said Jose Calderon, president of the Latino-Latina Roundtable of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valley, one of the groups organizing the event.

A separate march is scheduled for April 29 in Los Angeles.

"This is a march for children," Huerta said, adding often children and families are most affected when a family member is arrested in an immigration raid.

She also added it's the responsibility of descendants of immigrants to participate in the marches and support a call for immigration reform.

Those advocating for immigrant rights have called for reforms that include legalization for undocumented immigrants and a path to citizenship.

Huerta said that U.S. citizens must stop to think why people from places such as Mexico and Central America leave to illegally enter the United States.

"There are no job opportunities," she said. "They're going to go where they need to go for their families to survive."

Huerta said a small window of opportunity exists that must be used to work out an immigration reform bill. If it doesn't happen this year, it won't happen next year, when the 2008 elections take place.

Huerta said although Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., has introduced immigration legislation, other lawmakers will present better proposals and something will be hammered out.

It's up to people to write legislators and urge them to support positive reform legislation, she said.

"Leaders can propose many things but they need votes" from other lawmakers in order for the legislation to pass, Huerta said.

Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman Ira Mehlman agreed and said the closer to the 2008 election, the less likely immigration reform legislation will be approved.

"Most people thought with the Democrats in control of Congress (immigration reform) would be a slam dunk" and it hasn't turned out that way, he said.

Democrats want President Bush to "sell" the idea of immigration reform to the public but that won't work, Mehlman said.

"There is no support for it and the politicians know the voters won't support it," he said. "They can't sell it to the American public."

Among the laborers listening to Huerta on Thursday was Santiago Pacheco of Pomona. Pacheco came to the U.S. illegally from the state of Puebla in Mexico because he couldn't earn enough in factory jobs to support his wife and three children.

He said listening to Huerta was comforting.

"She's a great support to everyone and encourages us to continue going forward," he said.

Staff writer Monica Rodriguez can be reached by e-mail at m_rodriguez@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9336.

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