Published: March 16, 2010

Labor and immigrant rights advocates are gathering from across the country and descending on the National Mall on March 21 to demand long overdue rights for the millions of undocumented workers in the United States – and to send a message to political candidates seeking their support at the polls this November. These candidates should make no mistake: immigration reform is s a top priority for Latino voters. Eighty seven percent of Hispanic voters say they would vote against candidates who would deport undocumented immigrants from this country.

Yet, despite a Democratically-controlled Congress brought into office with support from labor and Latino groups, fixing our broken immigration system idles quietly on the back-burner and local “enforcement-only” measures continue to rip apart immigrant families and divide our communities nationwide. This inaction has left Latino and other communities skeptical of the commitment by candidates from either party to reform immigration. None of this bodes well for Democratic candidates hoping to fire up voters they once relied on as part of their base. Republicans don’t fare any better given their full-on obstruction to reform efforts and their shameful pandering to a vocal right-wing, anti-immigrant fringe groups.

Most Americans support sensible immigration reform -- including efforts to legalize the undocumented workers and restore the rule of law, even with all the high-pitched rhetoric and low road fear mongering. A recent poll by the Beneson Strategy Group shows that an overwhelming majority of voters across party lines want immigration reform to be done in 2010. Nearly 90% support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, provided they register with the government and met requirements like working, paying taxes, and learning English.

In the words of Martin Luther King, “a right delayed is a right denied.” No where do these words resonate more strongly than with the more than 11 million workers who seek only to finally emerge from the shadows, and contribute their full potential to building a stronger economy and more cohesive and peaceful communities.

Most people can agree that any person working 12 hours a day, mopping floors, picking vegetables or handling meat in a factory must be respected, and not deported or harassed. However, by its inaction, Congress has dumped the job of managing immigration on states and cities which with no authority, resources or expertise to do so -- and often with poor results.

In peaceful marches and demonstrations around the country in 2006, hundreds of thousands of people – native born citizens, immigrants, legal residents and others -- showed Washington the wide and substantial support for immigration reform. This same grassroots movement played a major role in helping elect Barack Obama win the White House. As we march again for immigration reform in Washington DC, we need to remind the elected officials who benefited from our support that we did so for a reason and that passing immigration reform is one of those reasons.