Immigration-rights train rolls in - D.C.-bound activists make Chicago stop
Immigration-rights train rolls in - D.C.-bound activists make Chicago stop
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons and Antonio Olivo
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published June 17, 2007
When news broke last week that the immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate was alive again, people on an Amtrak train leaving San Antonio cheered.
The immigration-rights advocates were on a cross-country train ride to Washington, where they will hold rallies and visit more than 40 members of Congress to push for comprehensive immigration reform.
The train stopped Saturday in Chicago, where it will pick up 13 more passengers Sunday evening en route to the capital.
The long-planned trip seemed to lose steam after the bipartisan bill to tighten the nation's borders and offer legalization to the country's 12 million undocumented immigrants was set aside in the U.S. Senate earlier this month.
Then it resurfaced.
"People were excited," said Javier Gonzalez, a lead organizer of the train tour, one of three from different parts of the country organized by a coalition of groups, including churches and unions.
"We feel a little bit responsible for that by keeping the pressure on."
Catherine Salgado, spokeswoman for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the trip's timing is perfect.
"It's very key right now because these stories will put a face to immigration," she said. "We don't know what the final bill will look like. Once they hear these stories, they can make better decisions."
The train, with activists from California, Arizona and Texas aboard, arrived at Union Station in Chicago about 6 p.m. to cheers and hugs from the Chicago travelers. Expected to hop aboard Sunday evening include a Chinese housekeeper for a downtown hotel, a Polish small-business owner whose wife was deported last week, and Cyntia Medrano, a Palatine 8th grader.
Medrano, 13, has been paying close attention to the Senate bill. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Medrano says its passage will help her attend college and become a social worker.
She hopes to join the debate this week when she meets with legislators.
"I'm excited about talking to the senators and telling them about my dreams," she said. "I want to know, if it passes, that I helped in some way."
The train, part of the Dreams Across America tour, will pick up more participants in Indiana and Ohio before arriving in Washington on Monday. Conservative groups plan similar rallies in Washington.
As for the crowd that arrived in Chicago on Saturday after four days of travel for some, they were still energetic, said Amanda Figueroa, 47, a home-care worker from Los Angeles. She has enjoyed seeing the scenery and getting to know the other advocates along the way, she said.
"When they came on in San Antonio, we all started sharing our stories," she said.
Robert Guajardo, 60, a mechanic from San Antonio, said he was surprised by the diversity of the participants, who come from different cultures and speak several languages.
"We all have the same idea -- we want a better immigration system," he said.
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efitzsimmons@tribune.com
aolivo@tribune.com
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons and Antonio Olivo
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published June 17, 2007
When news broke last week that the immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate was alive again, people on an Amtrak train leaving San Antonio cheered.
The immigration-rights advocates were on a cross-country train ride to Washington, where they will hold rallies and visit more than 40 members of Congress to push for comprehensive immigration reform.
The train stopped Saturday in Chicago, where it will pick up 13 more passengers Sunday evening en route to the capital.
The long-planned trip seemed to lose steam after the bipartisan bill to tighten the nation's borders and offer legalization to the country's 12 million undocumented immigrants was set aside in the U.S. Senate earlier this month.
Then it resurfaced.
"People were excited," said Javier Gonzalez, a lead organizer of the train tour, one of three from different parts of the country organized by a coalition of groups, including churches and unions.
"We feel a little bit responsible for that by keeping the pressure on."
Catherine Salgado, spokeswoman for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the trip's timing is perfect.
"It's very key right now because these stories will put a face to immigration," she said. "We don't know what the final bill will look like. Once they hear these stories, they can make better decisions."
The train, with activists from California, Arizona and Texas aboard, arrived at Union Station in Chicago about 6 p.m. to cheers and hugs from the Chicago travelers. Expected to hop aboard Sunday evening include a Chinese housekeeper for a downtown hotel, a Polish small-business owner whose wife was deported last week, and Cyntia Medrano, a Palatine 8th grader.
Medrano, 13, has been paying close attention to the Senate bill. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Medrano says its passage will help her attend college and become a social worker.
She hopes to join the debate this week when she meets with legislators.
"I'm excited about talking to the senators and telling them about my dreams," she said. "I want to know, if it passes, that I helped in some way."
The train, part of the Dreams Across America tour, will pick up more participants in Indiana and Ohio before arriving in Washington on Monday. Conservative groups plan similar rallies in Washington.
As for the crowd that arrived in Chicago on Saturday after four days of travel for some, they were still energetic, said Amanda Figueroa, 47, a home-care worker from Los Angeles. She has enjoyed seeing the scenery and getting to know the other advocates along the way, she said.
"When they came on in San Antonio, we all started sharing our stories," she said.
Robert Guajardo, 60, a mechanic from San Antonio, said he was surprised by the diversity of the participants, who come from different cultures and speak several languages.
"We all have the same idea -- we want a better immigration system," he said.
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efitzsimmons@tribune.com
aolivo@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 7:59 AM
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