National “Fast for Families” bus tour arrives in Bakersfield to urge Congress to keep families together and pass immigration reform
Bakersfield, CA – Kern County immigration reform advocates, including United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez, will welcome the national “Fast for Families” for immigration reform bus tour at Yokuts Park in Bakersfield on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 10:30 a.m.
The tour, which kicked off in California on Monday from Los Angeles with two buses, is part of the "Fast for Families Across America" national campaign. The campaign is planning to visit more than 75 congressional districts − seven of those in California − throughout the United States. The bus tour is scheduled to converge in Washington, D.C. on April 9.
Rudy Lopez and Dae Joong Yoon, who fasted for 22 days relying only on water while rallying at the National Mall last November for immigration reform, will be among those traveling in the bus to Bakersfield. The local event is sponsored by the Kern Coalition for Citizenship.
The bus will arrive to Yokuts Park and continue with a procession at 10:45 a.m. to House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy’s office a short distance away. A press conference will be held at 11 a.m. At 6 p.m., the campaign will hold a community meeting to discuss immigration reform and community involvement at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
WHAT: “Fast for Families” bus tour for immigration reform stops in Bakersfield
WHEN: 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Welcoming at Yokuts Park at 10:30 a.m.; procession to McCarthy’s District Office, 4100 Empire Dr., Suite 150, following with a press conference at 11 a.m. A community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2216 17th St., Bakersfield, CA 93301.
WHO: Speakers include: Dae Joong Yoon, NAKASEC; Rudy Lopez, Fair Immigration Reform Movement; UFW President Arturo S. Rodriguez; iconic labor leader Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation; and CSU, Bakersfield’s students from the United Now for Immigrant Rights and MECHA.
###
The Kern Coalition for Citizenship is comprised of a broad alliance of partners, such as, United Farm Workers (UFW), UFW Foundation, SEIU International, MiFamiliaVota Education Fund, La Campesina 92.5, Cesar Chavez Foundation, SEIU Local 521, SEIU Local 1000, Communications Workers of America, CA Partnership, Dolores Huerta Foundation, CSUB United Now for Immigrant Rights (UNIR), CSUB MECHA, Unidad Popular Benito Juarez (UPBJ), California Faculty Association – Bakersfield Chapter, Heritage of America, American G.I. Forum—Kern County Chapter, CHIRLA, Community Trust Federal Credit Union and Organizing for Action.