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Local religious leaders urge support for activists fighting for immigration reform

DJ Yoon and Rudy Lopez join in a prayer at the Episcopal Church Center, 75 South 200 East, as Yoon and Lopez will drive the Fast for Families Across America tour bus for immigration reform on Saturday, March 8, 2014.

Matt Gade, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY Nearly a dozen local religious leaders joined hands Saturday to bless a group of advocates traveling around the country to increase support for comprehensive immigration reform.

Their cry is for the families that are separated by deportation and for people who die in the desert trying to enter the country illegally.

"Our country has been founded by immigrants, has a history of welcoming and integrating immigrants and we will continue to be great as we acknowledge our heritage and be a nation whose shores are a welcome beacon for those on the move," said Salt Lake City Catholic Bishop John Wester.

Wester welcomed riders of the Fast for Families bus one of two that is stopping in more than 75 congressional districts across the country before joining in Washington, D.C. on April 9.

The trek began after a group of activists abstained from food for 22 days on the National Mall, beginning in November, "to show that immigration reform is too important not to keep front and center in front of Congress," said Rudy Lopez, one of the activists who fasted publicly and continues his quest with the bus tour.

On Monday, the group will visit with Rep. Chris Stewart's office staff, to urge the congressman to take leadership on the issue of immigration.

Jos Bonilla, of Salt Lake City, became a legalized citizen of the United States in October, after 34 years of living in the country and paying taxes. He said the process was long, but it shouldn't be.

"I think every human being is coming here to work and to do good and live in society," he said. "In my opinion, everybody has the right to live, everybody has the right to work and everybody has the right to do good."

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Local religious leaders urge support for activists fighting for immigration reform

March 9th, 2014

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Activist's fast is food for thought on immigration

Category: Immigration Reform

The first day you fast, says Eliseo Medina, your stomach begs you to reconsider. The second day is worse.

"Your body starts asking for food," the 68-year-old local activist told me about his fast for immigration reform. "It becomes more difficult and you wonder if it's worth doing this."

But Medina's commitment is an extension of the work he began almost half a century ago, shoulder to shoulder with Cesar Chavez. So there was no letting up last fall, as he made his appeal outside the halls of power in Washington, D.C.

When his stomach growled, he drew strength from fellow fasters as they joined hands and prayed.

"After the third day, my body quit asking for food. The amazing thing was that I needed less sleep, my mind was clear and I was able to think more clearly about what I was doing."

Medina went 22 days without eating, ending his fast only when doctors warned of possible organ damage if he continued. During Medina's fast, President Obama came out of the White House to hear his story. Congressional representatives and religious leaders made visits too.

Medina said that as he grew physically weaker, shedding more than 20 pounds, he felt spiritually stronger, lifted by the power of purpose.

"Fasting is a way to engage people in a non-threatening manner," Medina said. "When you're marching or picketing, it's confrontational and people go on the defensive. Fasting says, 'Here's what I believe, here's my faith, and I feel so strongly about it that I'm willing to sacrifice.' When that happens, people take a different attitude. It makes them begin to examine their own principles and values."

There was, of course, no immigration reform last year. And many people wouldn't bet on it happening this year either.

But Medina is back on the road in the name of the cause. He's headed east by bus with Fast for Families, meeting with supporters along the way, appealing to congressional foes of reform, and planning an April 9 rally in Washington. The fasting this time will be limited to Wednesdays, he said, so he and his cohorts have enough energy to do their work.

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Activist's fast is food for thought on immigration

March 9th, 2014

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