'Fast for Families' campaign stops in North County
VISTA Local and national immigrant-rights activists held a series of events throughout North County on Wednesday to call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
The events were part of the Fast for Families Across America campaign, which asks people to lobby legislators and fast on Wednesdays in solidarity with unauthorized immigrants.
The campaign comes at a time when the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform appear all but dead this year. A broad immigration bill passed by the Senate last year is now stalled in the House and roughly 56 percent of Americans say immigration reform shouldnt be a top priority, according to a recent poll.
Many Americans also disagree on how to approach reform, with some pushing for a legal pathway to citizenship and others arguing for increased enforcement and stronger borders.
Fast for Families organizers said they want to push the discussion forward.
The campaign led by Eliseo Medina, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, and a handful of other advocates is making stops across the country over the next several weeks, ending in Washington D.C. on April 9.
On Wednesday, the group was joined by dozens of local activists including members of the North County Immigration Task Force, the American Friends Service Committee and Latinos Organizing for Action.
Their first stop was at the district office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, followed by a teach-in at MiraCosta College in Oceanside and a community meeting at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vista.
The nations immigration system is broken, said Cristian Avila, 23, one of the people traveling on the bus to Washington. Were here to have a conversation on how to fix it.
Avila, who was brought into the country illegally by his parents at the age of 9, and other activists are pushing for reforms that include a way for unauthorized immigrants to legalize their status.
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