Thousands call for immigration reform on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
This is cross-posted from the Reform Immigration FOR America blog. I will have some more thoughts tomorrow, but for now, I’m too tired for further analysis. You guys understand, right?
I just came from the event on the West Lawn of the Capitol and let me start by saying we brought some serious fire power to the doorstep of Congress today. I’m eager to hear an official count of folks there, but it was a large crowd. The energy was high and people were poised and ready for action. It was clear: we are sending a message to Congress and they must listen.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to stay for the full event – I was trying to live-tweet but getting less-than-stellar service on the West Lawn. A few quotes from the elected officals are below, courtesy of NAKSEC’s twitter account:
From Rep. Luis Gutierrez: it’s been a long journey. gutierrez said too many good things. he just did a shout out to community organizers
From Rep. Nydia Velazquez: this is not going to be easy. i know together we’ll get to the finish line
From Sen. Bob Menendez: moral and economic imperative to realize immigration reform. today we see family values
From Rep. Jared Polis (in Spanish): “un mejor futuro para todos los americanos.” (“A better future for all Americans!)
I will be posting all my pictures from the event soon. And will be keeping you informed of any new updates. In the mean time, check out the New York Times article that just dropped about today:
Thousands of immigrants came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a day of lobbying and an afternoon rally calling for comprehensive immigration reform.
Tuesday’s event was sponsored by various immigrant advocacy groups, including the Reform Immigration For America campaign, the National Capital Immigration Coalition, and Families United/Familias Unidas. It attracted convoys of buses, vans and cars carrying more than 3,000 protesters from at least 17 states.
Also, we are featured on the front page of the C-Span at the moment, with the promise of video footage to come!
Today has been a huge success and we are still going! Stay tuned for pictures and more updates!
