Immigration Reform 2013: Advocates Begin Third Week Of Fasting As Thanksgiving Approaches

As most of the country prepares to sit down on Thursday for Thanksgiving feasts, a group of immigration reform activists who are camping out in tents on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. is entering their third week of a hunger strike, with Wednesday marking their 16^th day of consuming nothing but water. The "Fast for Families", led by Eliseo Medina, a top organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and immigrant advocates Cristian Avila of Mi Familia Vota and Dae Joong Young of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, is meant to drive home the urgency of the need for immigration reform with a path to citizenship for the nation's estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants.

The Obama administration has made several gestures of support for the fasters, beginning last week, when Vice President Joe Biden paid them a visit on the National Mall along with Obama aides like Cecilia Muñoz, director of domestic policy for the administration. On Monday, during a speech on immigration in San Francisco, President Barack Obama gave them a nod, saying, "right now, I'm seeing brave advocates who have been fasting for two weeks in the shadow of the Capitol, sacrificing themselves in an effort to get Congress to act."

"I want them to know we hear you," Obama added. "We're with you. The whole country hears you." In response, the fasters issued a statement thanking the president and calling on House Republican leadership to "address America's moral crisis--a dysfunctional immigration system that has continuously undermined the integrity of our national values and the unity of our families". On Wednesday morning, First Lady Michelle Obama added her own expression of support, writing on Twitter, "As families begin to gather for Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of the brave #Fast4Families immigration reform advocates. We're with you. -mo."

California Republican representatives Jeff Denham and David Valadao, both of whom have advocated for tackling immigration reform with a single comprehensive overhaul bill, also visited the fasters in recent days. The two's stance on the issue is a notable departure from that of the rest of the House GOP -- House leaders like Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has been the object of the fasters' pressure, have said the GOP in that chamber will take on the issue with small, single-issue bills, but have not scheduled a vote on any of the bills their legislative committee has yet produced.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Medina, who says he has lost 20 pounds since beginning the fast, told members of the press that this Thanksgiving would be the first time that fasters had been away from their families for the holiday. "Instead, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving on the Mall, drinking only water instead of eating turkey or watching a football game," he said.

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