Today, our leaders are in Washington, DC ready to bring our demands of Relief, Reform and Respect straight to Congress. I’ll try to keep you updated throughout the day as I get stories and pictures from the day’s events.

Our partners at OneAmerica traveled all the way from Washington State to be here today to lift up the stories of suffering at the hands of the broken system.

Right now, leaders are filling up the Church of the Reformation, for the forum on immigration reform with members of Congress, faith leaders and immigrant rights leaders.

You can find the agenda for the forum here.

Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change:

Keeping families together is an AMERICAN value. Immigrants can’t win this fight alone.

Jim Wallis, the CEO of Sojourners:

We are all here becasue there is no such thing as an illegal human being.

And speaking to the frustration we have felt as a movement and the commonly held belief that the odds are stacked against us as we hear the excuses of Congress about why immigration reform isn’t moving forward:

Hope means believing in spite of the evidence… then watching the evidence change. We ignore the excuses beacause we are people of hope.

Amen and amen!

Now, Muhamed Zahid Chaudhry, a Veteran, is speaking to the crowd at the Church of the Reformation:

Immigration reform affects people like me, my wife Ann and our children.

We need immigration reform in this country, we are people of faith, let us not lose our souls.

And now, a friend and an ally of the immigration reform movement, Senator Menendez takes the stage:

And Senator Menendez just announced he will introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill that we can rally behind and will call for a vote on the DREAM Act.

The Dream Act and immigration reform will happen because we push and push to make it happen.

I believe that comprehensive immigration reform is in the nation’s best security interests. Tearing families apart is not an American value.

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez now takes the stage.

And she has this to say:

As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus… we will not stand in a way of the Dream Act as long as it’s a clean bill. if we can protect part of our community while we fight for the rest. We must!

Speaking of, have you sent your fax to support DREAM yet?

We cannot forget who made this nation what it is today: immigrants.

We will not rest until we get comprehensive immigration reform.

Congresswoman Velazquez just closed her speech by saying that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is meeting with the President himself on Thursday to discuss the DREAM Act. This is great news and means there is true momentum behind our movement – even all the way at the top of the chain of command!

And now the movement’s champion, Representative Luis Gutierrez takes the stage (joined by adorable children looking slightly bored):

Representative Gutierrez pumped the crowd up, challenging President Obama to “not disappoint us” next week and calling on the POTUS to support, ‘spread loudly and embrace’ an immigration reform bill in the Senate. He also said he would call on a vote for the DREAM Act.

He called for unity in our movement “because our enemies want to see us divided” and left the crowd with this:

Hasta la victoria siempre! Venceremos! Si se puede.

You guys fired up, yet? I am.

Now individuals are taking the stage to tell their heartbreaking and moving immigration stories stories.

Right now, Yves Gomes is telling his story.

It’s inspiring and heart-wrenching. You can watch his video testimony below:

Next up was Carlos Saavedra, of the United We DREAM Coalition.

Carlos, who’s been working on the DREAM Act for a few years now talks about the current political moment:

We have 7 days to make the DREAM Act a reality. It’s been a long journey [for him] since 2001. Now, let’s make it happen.

It’s happening fast, but we have to capitalize on this momentum. Have you sent your DREAM Act fax yet?

Now Reverend EunSang Lee, who we featured earlier this week,  is giving a blesssing and thanking the organizers working on the DREAM Act and immigration reform for all they do. (Seriously, if you know one of these people, thank them today.)

He calls on organizers: ‘we can’t be anxious, don’t be intimidated’.

The forum closes with a prayer – everyone joined hand in hand, in unity and solidarity for the passage of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform.

For our families. For our communities. For our youth. For ourselves. For America.

Categories: comprehensive immigration reform, dream act, immigrant rights, Relief Reform Respect