Apr 9, 2006 11:59 pm US/Central
Pro-Immigration Rallies Fight To Revive Bill
by Rafael Romo
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Hundreds of thousands packed the streets in Dallas to support an immigration bill. On Monday, more rallies will be held in Chicago and nearly 100 other cities.
An immigration bill that would have legalized 11 million immigrants died last week in Congress, and on Sunday, immigrants across America said not so fast.
CBS 2's Rafael Romo spoke with a local family who may be torn apart if nothing is done.
It was the last hope this Chicago resident had for getting a visa for his wife, but a compromise that would've helped millions of undocumented immigrants stalled last week in Congress.
"It's not affecting only what they call illegals. It's affecting American families in general," said Rodolfo Benitez.
More than 5,000 people gathered in Des Moines, Iowa Sunday and tens of thousands more in San Diego in two of several pro-immigration rallies held in cities across the nation.
Protesters are demanding an immigration reform bill, but Republicans in Congress are saying the chances of a compromise with Democrats are very slim.
"Almost every one of the bills in the Senate that have been proposed and that are characterized as guest worker are in fact amnesty bills, and any bill that has an amnesty in it will probably have a very tough time sledding in the House of Representatives," said U.S. Rep. Thomas Tancredo from Colorado.
"The United States doesn't have the political will, nor can it ever commit the resources to deport eleven-million people. Therefore, the only sane, sensible, compassionate thing to do is to integrate them into our society," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez from Illinois.
In Illinois, there are 35 families like the Benitezes who face separation and hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants waiting for an answer.
"The truth is out there now and the people have the mobilization tools they need to get to Washington. That's what we need to do. We need to take our families and go to Washington and demand the human rights that we deserve," said Julie Santos with the Family Unity Campaign.
Immigrant advocacy groups are planning a forum Monday at Truman College and also several events throughout the week.
They are also talking about a million-people march to be held on May 1, in Washington.
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