Gutierrez & Cardinal George Return National "Family Unity" Outreach Tour to its Chicago Base

As Hispanic Caucus Meets with Obama This Week, Interfaith Community Puts Immigration Reform in Moral Context

March 18, 2009

Media Contact: Rebecca Dreilinger (202) 225-8203

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Chicago, IL) On Saturday, March 21, Chicago's interfaith communities, along with Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, join a national effort to document the harm caused to citizens across our nation in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.

Following on the heels of a meeting with President Barack Obama this Wednesday, U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Immigration Task Force, returns to Chicago where he launched the "Family Unity" effort last November. Now a 20-city national outreach tour, thousands of U.S. citizens from coast to coast have attended prayer vigils and town-hall meetings, signing petitions to the President and testifying to the loss and separation caused by our broken immigration system.

"No city in America has been spared the devastating effects of our broken system," said Rep. Gutierrez. "As a nation —as citizens— we cannot wait any longer for fair and just immigration reform. I have traveled the country and heard from parents and children, husbands and wives who are being torn apart by a system that fundamentally disregards family values. But nowhere am I more familiar with this kind of needless suffering than in my hometown of Chicago. I hope that all my friends and neighbors, too many of whom have experienced this suffering first hand, will join me on Saturday as we stand up for real, lasting change."

The Family Unity outreach tour has already visited Providence, RI, Atlanta, GA, Albuquerque, NM, Ontario, CA, San Francisco, CA, Phoenix AZ, El Paso, TX, Dallas, TX and Mission, TX, where nearly 14,000 individuals have filled their community churches to capacity. They came forward to demonstrate the vast numbers of American families—from all political backgrounds and faiths—who demand change from a legal system that undermines family values.

Over the next several weeks, additional events will be held in Milwaukee, WI, Detroit MI, Orlando, FL, Miami, FL, Philadelphia, PA, Salinas CA and San Jose, CA. 

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