A March in Favor of Legality for Millions

Thousands of immigrants are expected to gather this Wednesday in front of the Capitol in order to put pressure on Congress to pass a law to legalize millions of immigrants from across the world who are residing in the U.S. in violation of the law.

Among the thousands of immigrants, representatives of the Guatemalan community will try to seek the legalization of thousands of their fellow countrymen who energize the U.S. economy everyday with their efforts and also receive income that allows them to improve the lives of their relatives at home.

Religious, civil society and business groups and trade unions organized this march under the motto “¡Ahora es el momento!” — “The time has come!”

Its aim is to put pressure on both houses of Congress so they can draft a plan entailing a reform of the immigration system, with the main goal of granting citizenship to 11 million immigrants currently living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Kica Matos, one of the organizers of the march, declared in a press conference that it will be one of the days of greatest pressure for Congress in recent times because many immigrants will come from all over the country.

On Tuesday afternoon, the so-called Group of 8 senators, made up of Democrats and Republicans, made an announcement that next week it will present a bill for comprehensive immigration reform, including a plan to legalize the undocumented and prevent future illegal immigration at the same time.

Quoting sources from Congress, the Spanish news agency Efe declared that this bill would include measures for strengthening the toughest immigration laws in U.S. history.

The whole content of the bill was still unknown to immigrants and their leaders.

The important thing about the march this Wednesday will be the pressure that the immigrant community, which is rightly demanding regularization of their status, will put on the two main American parties.

It is well-known that millions of immigrants make a great contribution to the U.S. economy, the largest economy in the world, and therefore deserve to be granted legal status in this land.

It is time to get over the criminalization of all these people who contribute to the daily development of agriculture, industry and services across the U.S.

They have the right to live without the fear of being captured or deported and to live a dignified life as free citizens in this great land.