At noon on Tuesday, immigrant advocates and supporters of immigration reform with a path to citizenship for the undocumented will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to call for Congress to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws. The "Camino Americano: March for Dignity and Respect", as organizers have dubbed it, will feature a march along with speeches from several senators and representatives, prayers from religious leaders and performances by Los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, and Olga Tañón. The National Mall has been closed due to the government shutdown, but Susana Flores, a spokesperson for the rally, told the Washington Examiner that the Park Service will allow it to take place in accordance with First Amendment rights.
According to PE Bloggers, demonstrators will march to the US Capitol following the rally on the National Mall. Organizers told the site that about 200 people will participate in an act of civil disobedience there which could put them at the risk of being arrested. During the rally which precedes the march, the names of those who died in the past year while trying to cross the US-Mexico border will also be read. According to the Washington Examiner, about 30 members of Congress are expected to attend, including House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). Organizing groups include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO.
The event follows Saturday's "National Day for Dignity and Respect", which saw rallies held in over 150 cities across the United States. In a press release issued on September 4, organizers said they were pushing for an "immigration reform that ends deportations and wasteful spending on border militarization and push forward for a path to citizenship for 11 million aspiring citizens that keeps families together and protects workers' rights". After a bipartisan Senate plan passed in June with a strong majority in the Senate, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) refused to introduce it for debate in the lower chamber, saying it did not have the support of most of the House's Republican majority. Other House Republican leaders have produced several small, single-issue immigration bills which leaders on the issue in the Senate hope can be paired with a larger, more comprehensive reform. But with little time left on the Congressional calendar in 2013, chances for immigration reform look slim - and slimmer for 2014, when lawmakers would likely be loath to consider such a sensitive topic during an election year.
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