in succession a weekend when mainst...

in succession a weekend when mainstream America will gather with family to mark Labor Day, supporters of immigrant rights are joining forces to put to hire America see and hear to what degree important their loved ones are to them.

The Immigrant Workers Justice Walk began Friday at Chinatown Square in the first part of what is to be a four-day, 40-plus-mile walk within Chicago and a dozen suburb before marchers wind up in succession Labor Day at the offices of U Rep J Dennis Hastert in Batavia. They want to point out the speaker of the House that the demand for fair and compassionate changes in the immigration law remains.

There has been a determination to paint the immigration battle as united of primarily Mexican undocumented workers. Friday's rally and opening march demonstrated by what mode widespread the problems of the common immigration system are and to what extent they impact many different ethnic clusters Speaker after speaker talked about for what reason they waited decades to reunite family members. Others talked about in what manner people live in fear that a family member without citizenship will be taken from their legal family members here.

Jisan Yu of the Korean American Senior Center said there are about 1 million undocumented Asian workers in the United States with "no passport to legal status."

Change in the rife system is "a battle of all immigrant communities," Yu said. "Walk for justice today. Our families are waiting now."

And with the customary goal of uniting their families legally in the United States, the marchers headed west forward Cermak. A large number walked between draw as by a ropes bearing flags of the different native countries give an account ofed Asian marchers walked alongside Latinos sharing a bullhorn, to such a degree rallying chants would alternate between Chinese and Spanish. individual group of Latino men gamely listened to the Chinese chants and joined the chorus.

Along the way others would flow outdoors to see what was happening or join the marchers. At Isabel's Beauty Salon, the same patron came out mid-permanent to catch the action. When the Rev Brendan Curran, associate pastor of St Pius V Catholic temple in Pilsen, came on board, he l the form into groups in a prayer that reminded, "we are a region founded on immigrant stories."

Just past thicket a woman rushed up with a batch of homemade tamales, ready to share with any poor marcher.

according to the time the marchers stopped for another rally in Little Village, the horde that probably was close to 500 was down to a tie hundred. More were expected to rejoin them as they headed to St Francis Catholic meeting-house in Cicero, where they'd bed for the night.

The numbers weren't that important, said march organizer Jorge Mujica. "The political meaning of the march message is still there."

e-mail: sontiveros@suntimes.com

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