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Chanting in Spanish and carrying banners that read, “This is the only home I and my children know” and “We are not terrorists, we are workers,” close to 75 Latinos and Asians arrived outside Congressman Bob Brady’s office.
All ages — including children — from all walks of life had one thing in common: They were immigrants who braved freezing temperatures Feb. 2 to call on Brady to support an immigration bill that would, in part, give them legal status.
Fidel de la Luz, a Mexican immigrant from Norristown, addressed the gathering in Spanish with one of the event organizers, Juntos’ Zac Steele, translating.
“All immigrant communities need to unite. We need immigration reform for all immigrants of all countries who have come here willing to work in the United States. We need to come together and raise our voices so everyone can hear us,” de la Luz said to the crowd.
A short time after he and the others arrived at about 11:30 a.m., a representative from Brady’s office at 1907 S. Broad St. passed out a written statement from the 1st District congressman who covers Philadelphia, Chester and Delaware counties: “Throughout my tenure in Congress I have been proud to support comprehensive and fair immigration reform. I have been a well-known advocate for the rights of immigrants in my Congressional District and across the country. I am pleased to inform you that I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 4321, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP [America’s Security and Prosperity] Act of 2009.
“I will work with my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee to move our portion of the bill to the floor, and I will do all I can to ensure the passage of this important bill in the House.”
South Philadelphia-based Juntos, the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia and the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia organized the event. Juntos works with Latino immigrants, 90 percent of whom are Mexicans, Steele said. New Sanctuary is a two-year-old citywide interfaith coalition of immigrants, congregations and individuals dedicated to taking a public stand on immigrant rights, co-founder Jennifer Rock said.
“As a faith-based organization, we are really committed to standing in solidarity with the immigrant community and the struggles they face in this country. We see immigration reform as one of the many necessary changes that will improve the quality of life for immigrants, not only in Philadelphia, but in the entire country,” Rock told the Review.
Aldo Siahaan, an Indonesian who is pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center, 17th and McKean streets, showed his support outside Brady’s office. His flock includes Indonesians, Hispanics and Caucasians.
“I’m here on behalf of the Indonesian community and as a man of faith. I’m an immigrant,” Siahaan told the Review.
At his church, the pastor said he hears lots of stories of struggle, particularly among his congregants. The No. 1 Muslim country in the world, Christians face persecution in Indonesia and, because 90 percent of Indonesians have a Chinese background, that also is grounds for persecution, Siahaan said.
“We see America as a freedom country where they can practice their religion and not be persecuted,” he said.
Those who support legalization believe it will have economic benefits for the nation. In a letter to Brady, Ruben Chico, a Mexican immigrant from the 2000 block of South Eighth Street, cited how it could boost the economy: “Immigrants often do not use banks because they don’t have proper identification. If they did, they could use banks and those institutions could invest their money, thus improving the economy. Without Social Security numbers, immigrants cannot buy health insurance, so hospitals are left picking up the tab when they get injured or sick. Immigrants with legal status would be able to have Socials, allowing them to buy health insurance. Immigrants with legal status could earn fair wages and therefore have more money to put back into the economy.”
Presently, most immigrants earn minimum wage or lower, Steele said, adding they are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs or facing deportation threats from employers. Steele, who is fluent in Spanish and English, said the biggest issue at the top of the list for all proponents is legal status for immigrants.
“Most people don’t have papers,” he said. “Most aren’t here because they want to be here, they are forced to be here for economic necessity. I think that somebody who risks their life to be here to support their family should have equal rights as citizens. I know that is a very liberal interpretation of immigration reform. The ultimate goal of immigration reform is to create a humane basis of rights for people who have risked their life to be in the United States.
“They are not taking jobs that a lot of others want, and they are being exploited,” he continued, adding immigrants tend to work in the service industry. “Every kitchen in the city, there are Mexicans washing dishes. This is not easy work.”
With more than 600 sections, the bill in question addresses border security, such as increasing the number of customs and border protection officers; wage rates and working conditions for immigrants; preventing unnecessary detention of refugees; and retaining workers subject to a Green Card backlog. The bill would benefit all immigrants, not just the groups that protested.
“It’s not just a Latino issue. So many people from around the world come into the United States,” Rock said.
Locally, there are some 12,000 Cambodians, along with 12,000 to 25,000 Latinos, most of whom are Mexican, but Chileans, Peruvians, Colombians, Hondurans and others round out the mix, Steele said, adding the last decade has seen the biggest influx of Latino groups here. Since the last census was in 2000, exact numbers are hard to come by until the results of this year’s census are in, Steele said. In West and Southwest, there is a large number of East African immigrants. The Northeast is heavily populated with Eastern Europeans, like Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and Czechs.
“Every single person in the United States who is not of Native-American descent got here through immigration. In some ways, that is what this legislation is about: It’s about creating a fair system of rights,” Steele said.
A successful turnout, coupled with support from Brady, made the event a success in Steele’s eyes.
“We’re happy that the congressman has agreed to sponsor the bill. His district covers the two highest-density immigrant populations in the city — Northeast and South Philly. He has certainly tens of thousands of immigrants in his district. I’m happy he has come out and said he’s in favor of this,” the Juntos organizer said.
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