After the victorious Solidarity March of this past Saturday, given the leadership of the organizations that responded to the call to form a Multicultural Coalition for the mobilization and the media’s promotion of the march, we must continue fighting until we succeed in obtaining a just proposal. 

Now, we must come together without carrying the flags of organizations, religious beliefs, or politics for one cause: to succeed in moving Congress to favor a law that contains a path to legalization.

During the following days, the Senate will debate its bill for comprehensive immigration reform.  It will base its debate on the proposal of Sen. Specter, which was approved by the Senate Judicial Committee last week. In this process, the republican senators will try to amend the proposal to further restrict the potential legalization of the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants, whose presence is indispensable for the social and economic development of the United States.

Today and tomorrow, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the United States will hold their annual legislative session in Washington DC.  They will emphasize the Immigration Summit, chaired by the attorney Alfredo Placeres and co-chaired by myself in the North-East region of the country. During this summit, we will meet with the Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Sam Brownback, and House Representatives Jim Kolbe and Luis Gutiérrez, among other legislators, and with the Attorney General Alberto Gonzáles, to discuss possible solutions that do not require Congressional approval. The result of this session, as well as the official position of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and its lobby during this week will be very important in favor of a just proposal for reform.

We will continue to diversify our efforts.  Call your Congressperson and Senator daily at (202) 224-3121 to tell them that you are in favor of legalization and opposed to the proposal HR-4437.  Together we will succeed!