Tens of thousands of people marched outside the White House Sunday to press Congress to move on a long-delayed immigration reform, which President Barack Obama told the protesters "won't happen overnight." Organisers hope the 100,000-strong "March for America" will put immigration reform, which failed in Congress in 2006 and 2007, back on the agenda after a year dominated by health care reform, the economy and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As the march made its way to the Congress building, lawmakers were busy inside debating a health care bill that immigration reform advocates said once passed into law should free up the legislative agenda to take up the plight of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. "The question for our leaders is what they will do starting Monday, March 22 to deliver on the promise of reform. We have heard promises before," Clarissa Martinez of the Hispanic organisation La Raza said on Friday, previewing the march.
As a sea of signs, flags and waving hands filled the National Mall - the long, grassy esplanade between the US Congress and the Lincoln Memorial, demonstrators were surprised to hear a taped message from Obama beamed over loudspeakers. "I've always pledge to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system and that is a commitment that I reaffirm today," Obama said to the cheers of thousands of demonstrators. Obama had promised to reform immigration laws during his campaign for the presidency, but a crush of other priorities has set back efforts to legalise immigrants and offering a path to citizenship.
"Today there is a growing coalition of law enforcement officials, faith and community leaders and members of the labour and business sectors who understand that immigration reform is critical for our security and prosperity," said the president. Some of the signs read "Immigration reform this year," but Obama warned that a long haul was in store for the reform legislation.
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