SAN FRANCISCO
Irish, Latino Catholics march for immigrant rights
Participants call for revival of reform bill that failed in Senate

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, June 9, 2007


Marco Camacho, right with flag, joins immigration reform marchers in a procession to St. Mary's Cathedral. Chronicle photo by Mike Kane

Two days after a massive immigration overhaul collapsed in the U.S. Senate, Latino and Irish Catholics in the Bay Area joined forces Saturday to call for a revival of legislation that would help legalize undocumented workers across the country.

In San Francisco, more than 300 Catholics and other supporters marched, sang and prayed along a 1.5-mile route from Mission Dolores to St. Mary's Cathedral in a combined religious pilgrimage and political protest.

"I'm here to say we're not the problem," said Edgar "Shoboy" Sotelo, his pre-march pep talk a fluid combination of English and Spanish. "I'm here to say we are the solution, like many immigrants."

When Sotelo finished, the Rev. Brandon McBride addressed the growing crowd.

"My message to our senators is you cannot run and hide from this issue," he said in a thick Irish accent. "We have to revive this bill again."

Inside the basilica, 9-year-old Manuela Baez read an essay she wrote in Spanish called "It's Not Fair."

"The government of the United States should appreciate what the immigrants offer to this country, and they should support immigrants instead of deporting them," she said.

The legislation would have tightened security at the country's borders while creating a guest worker program and a way for undocumented workers to gain legal residency.

Among the reasons the bill collapsed was pressure from those who opposed any form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

A strong wind blew as the marchers, all carrying yellow roses, headed up Dolores Street.

As San Francisco police officers controlled traffic, members of the Legion of Mary said several "Hail Marys" and, as they approached Market Street, threw in a few "Our Fathers."

Juliet Tabajanda said she wanted to be there to support the message that immigrants are a valuable asset to the country. A 1980 immigrant from the Philippines, Tabajanda said many people in her native country want to come to the United States, but the failed legislation will make it even harder for them now.

"They have a lot to offer," she said.

Catholic and immigrant rights activists planned the event to coincide with today's Feast of Corpus Christi. Participants said the Senate's failure to push legislation forward made Saturday's march even more important.

"The bill in the Senate stopped, but the problem never stops," said Porfirio Quintano, a community organizer and a parishioner of St. Kevin's Catholic Church, adding that the estimated 12 million people in the country illegally need reforms. "They're waiting for something."

The Archdiocese of San Francisco -- along with Catholic Charities CYO, the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center and the San Francisco Organizing Project -- sponsored the event.

The march was followed by Mass at St. Mary's, celebrated by Archbishop George Niederauer.

E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.

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