US born children to greet undocumented mother at end of CA’s “Keeping Families Together” bus tour in Bakersfield
Families and immigrant advocates call on Rep. Kevin McCarthy to support immigration reform
Bakersfield, CA − Martha Carrillo, an undocumented Mexican immigrant and mother of four, can hardly wait to see her children again. She is traveling with California’s "Keeping Families Together" bus tour, which makes its final stop Wednesday in Bakersfield.
The California "Keeping Families Together" bus tour is part of a nationwide campaign urging lawmakers to enact a new immigration process that includes a roadmap to citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants. Two concurrent bus tours are traveling across the Golden State, covering hundreds of miles and stopping to meet with local residents, elected officials, and special guests. The northern California delegation of the tour, which started in San Jose on Sunday, and the Southern California group, which departed Monday from Los Angeles, will culminate the tour when they meet for a rally on Wednesday, March 6, in Bakersfield starting at 1 p.m. in Yokuts Park, 4200 Empire Dr.
Carrillo, who is traveling on the Southern California bus, has been in the country without proper immigration documents for about two decades. The former farm worker hopes her sacrifice will motivate lawmakers to soon pass immigration reform, so she can work without the fear of one day not being able to come back home to her children. It would also allow her to fulfill her dream of seeing her "viejitos" (elderly parents) again in her native Mexico.
"To be honest, you feel the constant fear of being in this country undocumented," Carrillo said.
After the rally, a coalition of local labor leaders, immigration advocates, families of undocumented immigrants, farm workers and other community members will visit U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House majority whip, at his Bakersfield office to ask for his support.
Some of the speakers at the event will include: Diana Tellefson Torres, Executive Director of the UFW Foundation; Bishop Marvin Prichett, Interfaith Blessing; Pastor Saul Gonzalez, Asst. Superintendent for Delano Unified Schools; Angelica Salas, Executive Director at CHIRLA; Dolores Huerta, Dolores Huerta Foundation; NASA Astronaut Jose Hernandez; and Roberto De La Cruz, SEIU International.
"Keeping Families Together" is a national effort in 19 states and 90 cities, involving more than 100 Congressional districts, 38 U.S. Senators, and 582 families impacted by the broken immigration system. The tour will travel 20,000 miles and end March 13 in Washington, DC where 150 families, representing the 1,500 immigrants deported daily, will meet with Senators and House Members. The campaign is sponsored by the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) and local coalitions like the Kern Coalition for Citizenship in California. The Kern County Coalition for Citizenship is comprised of the United Farm Workers of America, the UFW Foundation, La Campesina 92.5 FM, CWA, CA Partnership, SEIU 521, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, Dolores Huerta Foundation, CSUB United Now for Immigrant Rights (UNIR), CSUB MECHA, Unidad Popular Benito Juarez (UPBJ), SEIU International, California Faculty Association – Bakersfield Chapter, CHIRLA, Center for Community Change (CCC).
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