At a mass meeting of over 1,000 and send-off of pilgrims, hosted by Pico
of California, with Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto , Pico youth leaders
Cecilia Munoz and Noemi Hernandez declared, “this Immigration reform is
not good enough “ at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sacramento
on Aug.11, 2013.
The meeting in the packed church hall was a send off event
for eleven pilgrims to begin a 285 mile walk through California’s Central
Valley, the vegetable heart land of U.S. agriculture. – a pilgrimage toward
citizenship. The walk begins on
Monday Aug. 11. Religious and
human rights activists are also
preparing to go to Modesto to
join with the pilgrims as they walk neighborhoods to bring pressure on
Central Valley Congressmen who have not yet supported comprehensive immigration
reform. The 285 mile walk will conclude in 22 days at the Bakersfield office of
Cong. Kevin McCarthy, Republican Majority Whip in the House. McCarthy is not usually counted
among the Tea Party Congress persons. His Bakersfield area district has a 35% Latino population and
22.8 % of the voters in the 2010
election were Latino.
The Pico youth
activists described the past campaign for citizenship, the passage of the
Senate bill S.744, and detailed its shortcomings. The current proposal’s
barriers to citizenship are too high.
Some 3 million current residents will be excluded .
“We want read comprehensive immigration reform that includes
all 11 million undocumented immigrants and that upholds the fundamental
American values of family and fairness.”.. this basic message was delivered in both English and Spanish.
“Only a direct, inclusive and affordable path to citizenship
for the friends, families, neighbors and members of our faith communities who
are undocumented achieves the central goal of immigration reform and Americans
of faith will accept nothing less.”
PICO of California is made up of over 400 religious
congregations, schools and neighborhood groups and represents some 450,000
families.
