Tens of thousands of people began assembling in Washington on Sunday to march for immigration reform, a politically charged issue that has been pushed to a back burner by the intense focus on healthcare.
Wearing colorful shirts and carrying banners and U.S. flags, thousands filled two blocks on the National Mall, chanting "si se puede" - "yes we can" - and "Obama listen, remember your promise."
Among the marchers was Jose Barnell, 60, a janitor originally from Mexico who said he crossed the border in 1970. A longtime resident of Chicago, he said he is now legal, as are his children and grandchildren. He traveled to Washington by bus to support immigration reform.
"We play a bugle right before we enter a fight," he said.
But many lawmakers, analysts and even activists are dubious that any overhaul of the immigration system is imminent. Sunday's march has been overshadowed by the House vote on healthcare overhaul legislation, and other domestic issues, such as the economy, weigh more heavily in the political calculus of this midterm election year.
At the rally site, Ali Nooani, chairman of Reform Immigration for America, which organized the march, disagreed that immigration reform was all but dead in 2010.
"This is the only issue on the table that has a history of bipartisan leadership," Nooani said, his voice almost lost by the sounds of the growing crowds. "Fixing immigration is fundamentally linked to the economy."
In a tactic that reflects the current economy, march organizers have tried to cast the immigration debate as part of economic recovery.
"What's important today is that jobs and immigration go hand in hand," Marc Morial of the National Urban League said on Sunday in a television interview. "When you've got millions of undocumented workers working off the books that affects the economy for everyone."
There are more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country, and efforts to fix the current immigration system have failed in recent years. Liberals have sought a path for citizenship for undocumented workers, while conservatives have been just as adamant in opposing what they have called plans for amnesty. Both sides support efforts to secure the border with Mexico, but they differ on what tactics to use.
A new proposal has been pushed by Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.). There is no bill yet, but the White House has endorsed the initial framework.
The plan would require biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; added border security; a temporary-worker plan and some path to legalization.
The immigration reform issue has been politically difficult for the White House.
In a statement, President Obama praised Schumer and Graham, saying he was pleased to see their "promising, bipartisan framework, which can and should be the basis for moving forward. It thoughtfully addresses the need to shore up our borders and demands accountability from both workers who are here illegally and employers who game the system."
Latinos, in particular, have criticized the Obama administration's record on enforcement as the number of deportations of undocumented immigrants increased 5% -- to 387,790 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2009. Nearly two-thirds of those removals involved non-criminals.
"There are millions dramatically impacted because [the policy is] not working," said Eun Sook Lee, executive director of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium. The Los Angeles-based group is one of dozens of community organizations from California that sent 455 representatives to the march, Lee said.
Lee, 42, was born in South Korea, raised in Canada and came to the United States in 1994 without immigration papers. She said she is fortunate she was able to obtain legal-residency status, but many others are struggling with split families and limited opportunities to contribute, even though they have worked hard and been in the U.S. for many years.
That's the main reason Julio Salgado, 26, a senior at Cal State Long Beach, said he joined the march.
He said he came to the United States when he was 11 and graduated from Long Beach High School in 2001 -- with a 3.6 grade point average.
But because he does not have a green card or legal-resident status, Salgado said he couldn't qualify for federal student loans for college, making it tough for him to continue his education. Even so, he said he will be graduating this spring -- nine years after first enrolling in community college.
"We've done everything we've been told to do as kids, but I'm at a loss here," he said of his job prospects upon graduating. "Going to D.C. is my own personal push [on the Obama administration], but it's not just for me, but other people and families in the same situation as well."
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