"Immigration rally focuses on families" F.A.

(Francisco Ayala: This news article discusses the impact that deportation is having a deep impact on many members of our community. It is very important to stress the extreme violence and fear that they experience on a daily basis.)

By Jamie Gumbrecht

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, March 01, 2009

About 3,000 people gathered in a Gwinnett County church on Saturday with a message for President Barack Obama: “Si, se puede.”

The “Yes, we can” chant that followed Obama during his presidential campaign was translated into Spanish during a rally at Tabernaculo de Atlanta in Norcross to push immigration reform. The crowd repeated the slogan, prayed and waved signs that said “Families United” and “Familias Unidas” as lawmakers spoke.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) made the church his second stop on a 17-city “Family Unity” tour to encourage immigration reform. He said 5 million American children have a parent who has been deported or is in the process of being deported. Changing immigration policies will keep more families together, he said, and fulfill a campaign promise to the immigration community.

“Our patience is waning,” Gutierrez told the crowd. “It is time to end the deportation and the separation of families.”

Tanyia Lopez, a 12-year-old whose mother was deported to Mexico last year, told the crowd that split families are a problem for Latinos, and for all residents of a community. Tanyia now lives with her grandmother and 2-year-old sister in Cobb County, where they struggle to pay rent. “I wish I could see my mom again,” she said. “We need help.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said he would help any way he can. He recounted asking his parents about segregation as a young man in Alabama, and how they told him, “That’s the way it is. Don’t get in the way. Don’t get in trouble.” He obeyed, until he heard the voice of Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio, and trouble became necessary, he said.

“It’s time for us all to get in trouble,” he told the crowd. “What our government is doing is not right, it is not fair, not just and it must be brought to an end. I will do all that I can to help.”

Adelina Nicholls, executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, said she was encouraged by the roar of the crowd at the church, by Gutierrez and Lewis’ attention to immigration issues around Atlanta, and by Obama’s selection of former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security secretary. Still, she worries. When Obama addressed Congress last week, there was no mention of immigration among his priorities.

“Immigration is a touchy issue,” Nicholls said. “We are all concerned about the silence.”