100,000 march for reform

State religious leaders call for prayerful action

By J.D. Long-García
The Catholic Sun

PHOENIX — Hundreds of thousands of people made their voices heard in two separate rallies at the Arizona Capitol this month, calling on lawmakers to create comprehensive and equitable immigration reform policies.

During a prayer service April 4, state religious leaders called on the power of God for guidance; a historic march throughout the streets of Phoenix called on the power of the people April 10.

A sea of white shirts poured through downtown Phoenix as more than 100,000 people marched from Veterans Memorial Coliseum to the Arizona Capitol.

Marchers hoisted American flags and signs reading, “We aren’t terrorists, we just want to work” while chanting, “U.S.A., U.S.A."

“We shall arm ourselves and in America, the only weapon that counts is the vote,” said immigrant-rights activist Alfredo Gutierrez, concluding the April 10 march.

“Every one of us who can will register to vote and defeat those who humiliate us and defend those who stand with us, be they Democrats or Republicans,” he added. “We will not be partisans. We will only be the defenders of our people.”

Gutierrez said that the group would fight for the dignity of his people in this country.

“We will do it in peace, following the laws of this country,” he said. “We will make sure that when the new Congress is voted into office in November, that Congress will reflect all of America. And we are America.”

Jose Garcia, who is from Mexico City, has been in the United States illegally for five years.

“We didn’t come here to steal. We came to work and live a better life,” he said. “They pay us less because we are illegal, but no one else will do the work.”

Garcia hasn’t seen his wife and children since he arrived in this country. He said he wouldn’t go visit because he fears not being able to return.

“I can’t bring them here because they could very well die in the desert on the way,” Garcia said. “There’s more people guarding the border now. If I left, I wouldn’t try to come back.”

Marchers came across some expressing opposing viewpoints.

“Deport illegal aliens, make this crime a felony,” one sign read. “There are no free rides,” read another.

Those in favor of deporting undocumented immigrants said they aren’t against immigration, just illegal immigration.

Dwarfed by the marchers, those calling for the deportation of the undocumented may express the minority opinion in the country.

A USA Today/Gallup survey conducted earlier this month reported that more than six in 10 Americans were in favor of illegal immigrants remaining in the United States and becoming citizens.

“Once you come down from the political rhetoric, people may look at the situation a bit differently,” said Ron Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference. He added that the solution isn’t as simple as either deportation or open borders.

“Being concerned for undocumented immigrants doesn’t necessarily mean you’re advocating breaking the rule of law,” he said while emphasizing that the Catholic Church was not advocating for open borders.

In a smaller, but perhaps more prayerful demonstration, religious leaders gathered with more than 300 on the Arizona Capitol lawn to call for just immigration reform a week earlier.

“We’re reminded time and time again in our Scriptures that we were strangers in a strange land, foreigners in a land that is not our own,” said Rabbi Peter Levi of Temple Chai in Phoenix, who represented the Jewish faith.

“God calls us to treat the foreigner kindly and ensure that we all live under one law, resident and foreigner alike,” the rabbi added.

Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas said, “Shouting matches do nothing, but praying together opens hearts.

“There is a solution to our country’s immigration struggles,” he said. “Stop shouting and work together.”

The bishop asked state legislators to demand a comprehensive immigration policy that will protect the nation while establishing a guest worker program with worker rights.

“We want our state legislators to moderate their rhetoric, stop pitting our community one against the other,” Bishop Kicanas said.

“Help us to look beyond our petty, self-centered solutions that do not do our country proud and do not express the values our country professes,” he added.

Bishop Kicanas also called for a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the United States and for a process that would expedite family reunification.

“We want state legislators who lead, who stir our hopes not fan our fears, who will help us live more in harmony and unity,” the bishop said.

“We need laws that will allow every human person the dignity that is theirs. That’s what makes the United States great — laws that free the human spirit,” he added.

Fr. Timothy Conlon, OSC, from the diocesan department of Ethnic Ministries, said the group gathered “to call for moderation and stability in the dialogue about immigration.”

“God calls us to a vision and to a kingdom where there are strangers and aliens no longer,” Fr. Conlon said. “We gather to recognize that immigrants have enhanced and not diminished our community.”

Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference said, “We build better communities of faith when we care for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized.

“The time has come for undocumented immigrants to be allowed to come out of the shadows of life and be acknowledged for the contributions they have made,” she said.

Brophy student Jesse Newell came with his classmates to the prayer service “to support the Mexicans and to erase racism in this country.”

“It’s ridiculous that they’re having it be a felony when they’re just trying to feed their children in Mexico,” he said, referring to HR 4437. The bill, currently being debated by the U.S. Senate, would make being undocumented a crime rather than a civil offense.

“They’re going to be treated the same way as murderers and rapists,” Newell said. “I’m here to protest against that.”