March, rally for immigrants draws tens of thousands in Chicago

Published: 2006-03-13

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Judging by the turnout at a March 10 immigration rights march and rally, the Chicago-area priests who have committed themselves to work for just immigration reform this spring have plenty of company. A crowd estimated at 100,000 people filled the streets from Union Park, the march's official starting point, to Federal Plaza, about two-and-a-half miles away. Marchers were still leaving the park when the leaders arrived at the plaza, and people were shoulder-to-shoulder along the entire route. Among them was Dominican Father Brendan Curran, who came with three busloads from St. Pius V Parish in suburban Pilsen. "The legislation in Washington has demanded our attention," Father Curran said. "It was a red flag. ... This is a time of danger." Even so, he said, the many efforts to support humane immigration reform have made people "cautiously hopeful." "Humane" reform, as defined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, would unify rather than divide families, create a workable system for people to cross the border for jobs and forge a path to legal permanent residency, said Elena Segura of the Chicago archdiocesan Office for Peace and Justice.

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