Rally to highlight need for immigration reform
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March 5, 2009 - 8:40 PM
By Jared Janes
The Monitor
MISSION - They're trying to bring immigration back to the spotlight.

Against the attention-grabbing backdrop of the troubled economy, representatives from the offices of the South Texas congressional delegation advocated for renewed focus on the issue during a news conference Thursday.

Millions of families still suffer from the country's immigration policies even as the nation concentrates on reviving the economy, said Salomon Torres, district director for U.S Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes. But immigration is itself an economic issue.

"The American public is nervous to its heels about the state of the economy," Torres said. "A key to our economic rebirth is immigrants. They are key to our future."

The renewed call for sweeping immigration reforms comes just as activists are planning to stage rally next week in Mission to bring more attention to the issue.

Organized under the umbrella of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Family Unity Campaign, the rally is part of a 16-city tour by U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, D-Ill., to document the harm that current immigration policies cause, said Freddy Santiago, a staffer from Gutierrez's office.

Several Rio Grande Valley families whose lives have been adversely affected by the country's immigration policies are slated to speak at the rally March 15 at Mission's Iglesia del Pueblo.

Santiago said the purpose of the national tour is to stop raids and deportation of illegal immigrants and reform the system.

Juanita Valdez-Cox, Texas director for La Union del Pueblo Entero, an immigrant advocacy group based in San Juan, said hosting the rallies in churches to draw attention to the disruptive effects of the country's immigration policies is the best way to address the problem.

"The wall isn't going to fix it," she said of the federal security fence along the border.

And "the sheriff in Arizona isn't going to fix it" either, she said, referring to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has grabbed headlines for his aggressive enforcement of U.S. immigration law.

"There are jobs here (in the United States) and there are workers there (across the border)," Valdez-Cox said, "and they're going to find a way to come together."

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