Hundreds of Immigrants and Allies to March this Saturday, October 5, for Respect and Reform

PRESS ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 3, 2013

CONTACT:Franklin Soults, MIRA Coalition fsoults@miracoalition.org 617-350-5480 ext. 204 216-849-2271 (cell)

 Hundreds of Immigrants and Allies from Across State to March Through Boston this Saturday, October 5, for Respect and Reform

Press Conference on Friday lays out collaboration 

of  50 area organizations in national day of action

BOSTON, MA – On Saturday, October 5, hundreds of immigrants and their allies from across Massachusetts will march through Boston demanding fundamental changes in immigration laws and policies, from the passage of comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. House of Representatives, to support for bills such as the Trust Act and Safe Driving Bill at the State House. Groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to SEIU chapters will join with some 50 immigrant organizations from across the state in this action, which will culminate in a rally at the Boston Common.

The Boston gathering will be among 166 actions being held throughout the U.S. on October 5 to raise a collective voice for immigrant dignity and respect. These events will occur in 141 cities in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and will include the partisipation of 13 House Reps, 1 Senator and 2 Governors.

Yesterday, five U.S. Representatives from across the nation introduced the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act,” a bill that contains bipartisan-backed provisions from the Senate immigration bill, as well as the border security bill passed unanimously by the House Committee on Homeland Security. In the actions on October 5, immigrants and their allies will demand that House Speaker John Boehner allow this bill to move forward for the well being of immigrant families and the prosperity of our nation.

Organizers will hold a press conference on the morning before the march, Friday October 4, at 11:30 a.m. in SEIU 32BJ District 615, 26 West Street, Boston MA

 Press Conference Speakers Include

• Eva Millona. Executive Director of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
• Roxana Rivera, District 615 Leader of SEIU 32BJ
•  Patricia Sobalvarro, Executive Director of Agencia Alpha
•  Natalicia Tracy, Executive Director of the Brazilian Immigrant Center
•  Magalis Troncoso, Executive Director of Dominican Development Center 
• Affected Immigrant Family

DETAILS OF THE MARCH, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5

WHO: Hundreds of Immigrants and Aliies

WHAT: March for Immigrant Respect and Immigration Reform

WHERE: Copley square to Boston Common

WHEN: Saturday, October 5, Starting at 12 Noon

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY

• Buses will come from Fitchburg, New Bedford, Brockton, Lynn, Springfield, Williamstown and Worcester and gather in Boston
• Hundreds of marchers will gather at the corner of  Boylston St and Dartmouth St (public sidewalk in front of the Public Library in Copley at 12 noon
• Public figures will be the "Leaders of the March," guiding participants towards two Bank of America branches on Boylston St. to deliver a letter demanding a public statement against anti-immigrant politics and in support of Immigration Reform.
• The march will continue down on Boylston St. to turn on Charles St.
• Attendees will arrive at Boston Common’s corner of Beacon St and Charles St. to begin the 1 hour program on the stage with music and the testimonies of 3 families and request the commitments of our MA congresional delegation to meet with Speaker Boehner and demand to enact immigration reform NOW.

THE MESSAGE OF THE MARCH

The Boston rally will demand an end to the deportation practices that have driven 11 million immigrants into the shadows, and the passage in the House of Representatives of a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a path to citizenship, which would accord these immigrants the full respect of the society to which they belong and strengthen the economy to which they contribute. Marchers will also call for the passage of important state bills such as the Safe Driving Bill and the Trust Act, measures that would increase the safety of our roads and return real security to our communities

The march will be held at a crucial moment — the final days in which the U.S. House of Representatives can move forward with an immigration reform bill this year. After the U.S. Senate passed bipartisan immigration legislation (S. 744) that includes a pathway to citizenship in June, progress was blocked by House Speaker John Boehner, who refused early this summer to bring any comprehensive bill to the floor of the House. Now, after a summer of actions in which 26 members of Boehner’s Republican party have declared their support for reform, the combined force of labor, community, ethnic and faith organizations will call for Speaker Boehner to stop blocking the passage of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship —a concept now supported by a bipartisan majority of representatives.
 
To that end, the rally will call on all members of the Massachusetts delegation to the House — all of them Democrats —  to raise their voices publicly for consideration of a comprehensive bill, one with a path to citizenship and without militarization of the border. The rally will begin with a noon and march from Copley square past several branches of Bank of America, which supporters will publicly call to stop supporting Speaker Boehner with campaign contributions. 

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

The New England Coalition for Keeping Families Together: American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLU), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), ADL's Latino-Jewish Roundtable, Anti-Defamation League, The African Council, Agencia ALPHA, Berkshire Immigrant Center, Birfly Conexion Juvenil Inmigrante, Boston New Sanctuary Movement (BNSM), Boston College Students, Brazilian Immigrant Center, Brazilian Ministers Network (BMNET), Brazilian Women's Group, Brockton Interfaith Community, Centro Presente, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores de New Bedford, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores de Lynn, Chinese Progressive Association, Chelsea Collaborative, Citizenship Brazilian Movement, Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, Comite de Refugiados El Salvador (CORES), Dominican Development Center, East Boston Ecumenical Community Council (EBECC), Emerson College Students / EmersonUNITE, Harvard College Act on a Dream, Harvard Kennedy School Students, Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC), Immigrant Worker Center Collaborative (IWCC), Jobs with Justice, Just Communities of Western Massachusetts, La Comunidad Inc, Latinas Know Your Rights, Latinos Unidos de Massachusetts (LUMA), Maria Luisa de Moreno International Foundation, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA Coalition), MassCOSH, Matahari Eye of the Day, MIRA USA, Neighbors United for a Better East Boston, New Hampshire Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees, Oiste?, Queer Asian Pacific-Islander Alliance (QAPA), REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, SEIU 32BJ/615, SEIU 1199, SEIU Local 509, Student Immigrant Movement, UNITE HERE Local 26, Williams College Students, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD).