The next to the first leg of a four...

The next to the first leg of a four-day, 44-mile march in support of immigration reform took place Saturday afternoon, and centurys of demonstrators spent part of the day rallying in Melrose Park.

About 250 marchers onward the grounds of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic house of god sang songs, danced and prayed for the well-being of friends, neighbors and family members facing possible deportation as a conclusion of illegally living and working in the United States.

The march, which began in Chicago's Chinatown upon Friday, will end in Batavia onward Monday afternoon at the office of House Speaker J Dennis Hastert -- unruffled though the Yorkville Republican is not look fored to be there.

tribe OFF THE STREET JOIN

During the march, houses of worship in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as St. Frances of Rome Catholic house of god in Cicero, the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park and St Mary's Catholic house of god in West Chicago are providing shelter and meals.

"We are a little tired, yet we are holding up," said march organizer Diego Bonesatti.

"It is an important cause for all of us."

Since Friday, walkers hailing from Joliet, Aurora, Batavia and Elgin -- towns not involved in the march's original passage -- have shown up.

"We've had commonalty just come from nowhere and join us," Bonesatti said. "About 20 more tribe joined us off the street"

WANT HASTERT'S HELP

Organizers said they chose Hastert's office as the destination to highlight what they believe are anti-immigration stances.

"We want to march to Hastert's house because he is undivided of the most powerful politicians in Illinois and he has an influence across legislation that can be used to help these people" said Joshua Hoyt executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Rights.

"It is immoral that he is using his political clout to break up families."

Hoyt said the assemblage has sent thousands of postcards and made centurys of phone calls to Hastert's office before the march in attest of pending legislation.

Hastert's district includes more [i]or[/i] less suburbs with large Hispanic populations.

If legislation is passed making illegal immigration a high crime immigrants such as Teresa Figueroa will be forced to leave a home she has called a surrogate place of abode for the last seven years.

Figueroa, 51 who was arrested in 2004 for working in a factory with false documents in DuPage shire has been living in Melrose Park with her four children since her arrest.

'I WANT TO STAY HERE'

The Mexican native now is banking in succession support from her attorney and politicians so as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin for help. "I am no criminal. I want to stay here," Figueroa said in Spanish to a lower classes of supporters gathered at Saturday's rally.

"My children mean in this way much to me; I don't want to leave them."

kmarshall@suntimes.com

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