At July 4 celebration, Mayor Walsh highlights push for immigration … – Boston Herald

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh used the city's annual 4th of July celebration at Faneuil Hall to extol immigrants and challenge Congress to work towards comprehensive immigration reform.

I wish that our national immigration policy was written and crafted with the same care and courage that immigrations display every single day in our country, Walsh said today, drawing applause from the crowd of Bostonians and visitors crammed into the historic building. Long before they take the (citizenship) oath, whatever their status, the vast majority of immigrants live out the meaning of our founding values.

Walsh did not mention President Trump who has cracked down on illegal immigrants and launched efforts to bar refugees and people from Muslim-majority countries since taking office in January but instead said he looks to Congress to tackle the problem through legislation.

Boston is a city built on immigrants, Walsh told the Herald. I think its important through this 4th of July, our message is to Congress and the Senate, lets look at immigration reform, lets look at fixing this problem rather than pointing fingers and blaming other nationalities based on where they come from. Lets do a comprehensive immigration reform policy and move forward on that.

The holiday celebration was keynoted by Orange is the New Black, actress Diane Guerrero, the daughter of Colombian immigrants who was raised in Jamaica Plain.

Guerrero recalled a happy Boston childhood, learning to use lobster claw crackers and visiting the Old State House balcony where George Washington once stood before her parents were deported when she was 14.

Our American life, filled with cotton candy and lobster grabbers and balloons for me, was cut short for them, she said. Their struggle to legalize their immigrant status was not successful. My parents were deported before they could see my dreams become reality.

We must persist for fairness, she added, and stand up to those who want to deny us liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Faneuil Hall gathering wrapped up a fife-and-drum parade that began at City Hall Plaza and wove through the downtown area, stopping at the Old Granary Burial Ground and for the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Old State House balcony.

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At July 4 celebration, Mayor Walsh highlights push for immigration ... - Boston Herald

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