Over 100 women, including undocumented, arrested in pro-immigration action

By Sandra Lilley, NBCLatino

A group of women representing immigration, civil rights, labor and women’s rights – joined by undocumented immigrant women – blockaded an intersection outside the House of Representatives on Thursday morning to call attention to the need for immigration reform. One hundred and fifteen women were arrested, including 24 undocumented women and 28 non-citizens, according to Kica Matos, a spokesperson for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM).

“We are escalating – our numbers are going to just go up. We are not going away,” said Matos, who spoke to NBC Latino following the civil disobedience and the arrests. “Seventy five percent of immigrants are women and children, and as women we bear the burden of our failed immigration system.” According to FIRM, 70 percent of immigrant women enter the U.S. through the family visa system, with waits which can last decades.

The FIRM website has a page, “100 Women, 100 Stories, 100 Arrests for Immigration Reform,” with pictures and statements from women, in their own words, on why they are willing to get arrested.

“I have seen too many immigrant women suffering because they were separated from their children and others they love. My arrest today is nothing compared to the intense pain these women have had to endure trying make a better life in this country for their families,” stated Petra Falcon, Executive Director of Promise Arizona.

Prior to the civil disobedience, more than 300 women and activists were joined by national leaders at a press conference, including Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, the ranking minority member on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security as well as immigration organizers from around the country.

The actions today come as groups are vowing to keep the pressure on Congress to enact immigration reform legislation. There is worry among lawmakers and immigration reform proponents that other issues such as the budget and Syria will dominate the remaining weeks of the year, particularly in the House. The Senate passed a sweeping immigration reform bill, but the House has yet to produce legislation, though a bipartisan group in the House has drafted legislation.

Today, members of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, (CHLI), composed of Republican and Democratic legislators of Hispanic and Portuguese descent, held a press conference outlining several principles in favor of immigration reform. These include an earned legalization process for undocumented immigrants, special consideration for those who arrived in the U.S. as children as well as members of the U.S. armed forces, and the need for secure borders.

“Our nation can only be strengthened and reinvigorated by these hard-working individuals who have come to our country asking only to be allowed to succeed by their own efforts, a prospect immigration reform will bring to them,” said Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. “We can all agree that our immigration system is broken, and the time to fix it has come.”

Former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who founded the CHLI, said in a statement that “CHLI strongly believes that immigration reform is necessary and that Congress should pass it before it adjourns this year.” “Our board of directors unanimously adopted the statement we have made public today, and we urge Congress to act without further delay.”

The issue is whether Republican members of Congress like Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart can sway others in the House GOP to make it a legislative priority.

In the meantime, immigration reform activists say they are escalating the pressure – and the actions.

“Sooner or later, we will get immigration reform,” says FIRM’s Matos. “Congress should just get it done.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Sandra Lilley loves being an active part of our “national conversation”, on everything from politics, education and the economy to the latest books and people in the news. Sandra started out in Telemundo-NY as a general assignment reporter and later News Director. She was also a Dayside Managing Editor at MSNBC and a Planning Editor for the NBC Domestic Desk. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Sandra studied history at Brown University, and currently lives in New Jersey with her family. Sandra hopes our site inspires and informs Latinos as they work toward their family’s “American Dream.”

[Photo courtesy Michael Saldarriaga, Reform Immigration for America]