Thousands Rally Nationwide in Support of an Immigration Overhaul

Source: NY Times

Thousands of supporters of an immigration overhaul held rallies on Saturday at more than 150 sites in 40 states, trying to pressure Congress, despite the partisan turmoil in Washington, to focus on passing a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants here illegally.

Hoping to display the wide reach of their movement, advocates held larger rallies in immigrant strongholds like Los Angeles, San Diego and Boston, with smaller demonstrations in places where immigrant groups have grown up recently, including Omaha, Neb.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Yakima, Wash. Organizers described the events, and a large rally they have planned for Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington, as their major show of force this year.

On what they were calling a “National Day of Immigrant Dignity and Respect,” supporters said they expected as many as 100,000 people nationwide. But the demonstrations came when few lawmakers on Capitol Hill were thinking about immigration, with the federal government shut down and the House of Representatives locked in a feud with President Obama and Democrats over health care and debt funding.

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Supporters contend there is already enough support in the House, between Republicans and Democrats, to pass a comprehensive bill including citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, if the speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, would bring it up for a vote.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/rallies-nationwide-in-support-of-immigration-overhaul.html?_r=0

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While the media lets House Republicans claim with a straight face that they want to negotiate in the search of a bipartisan solution, here is a clear example of House Republicans refusing to allow any action on the Senate's bipartisan immigration bill.

Members of the media need to ask Boehner, "What about the Senate immigration bill? Its bipartisan! Why won't you allow a vote on that bill?"