Lynn rally: Reform immigration

Josefa Guerrero moved to America from Colombia with her daughter and two young grandchildren 13 years ago to provide her family with a better life.Her grandchildren worked hard, grew up American, and one of them earned a scholarship to attend college. But their mother promptly moved Guerrero’s children back to Colombia, fearful that even with the scholarship they would never be able to work in America because the family is here illegally.Now, the children are struggling to adapt to a life in a country they never really knew.”They don’t know how to read or write in Spanish,” Guerrero said. “They feel isolated, and all they want is to come back.”Guerrero shared her story in front of a diverse crowd of 550 people at St. Joseph’s Church in Lynn on Saturday during an interfaith rally calling for immigration reform.North Shore clergy members, local, state and national advocacy groups, and public officials such as U.S. Rep. John Tierney, who represents the 6th District, joined immigrants in campaigning for a path to citizenship Saturday.The event was one of the first gatherings of its kind on the North Shore, and it marks a steady shift within the faith community to supporting immigration reform, said Daniel Lesser, the executive director of the nonprofit Essex County Community Coalition, which helped organize the event.”In our faith teachings, there’s a lot of language of welcoming the stranger. We see it as really good for our region for immigrants to be able to come out of the shadows,” he said.Advocating for a path to citizenship is the right thing to do when America’s immigration system is so broken, said Rev. Terence Moran, pastor of St. Joseph’s.”You see so many people who are hurt by this, and so much injustice that’s caused by the laws that stand, so we feel we have to speak up and do something about it,” he said.Tierney, who answered questions from the crowd Saturday, said he agrees, but that it’s going to be a long, hard battle to get immigration reform passed through a divided House of Representatives.”I’m hopeful, but it’s going to take a lot of work, and a lot of public pressure,” he said.If something does get passed and the nation’s estimated 11 million immigrants here illegally have a chance to become citizens, the country would be better off, said Yovanni Fana, a lay leader at St. Joseph’s.”It would be a level playing field for all of us if they would have a fair chance to reach the American dream, like we all have,” she said.Guerrero agreed, saying her grandchildren are much more likely to succeed and contribute to a society they grew up in if only that society would accept them.”If immigration laws were just, we could be able to have more young people who love this country and can contribute to make this a better place,” she said.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected] You Go? To participate in more local movements advocating for immigration reform, join a march and rally through Lynn 4 p.m. May 1st at North Shore Community College, organized by Essex County Community Organization, Operation Bootstrap and Saint Joseph’s parish in Lynn; Immaculate Conception in Salem and Saint John the Baptist in peabody. For more information, visit www.eccoaction.org or email [email protected] or call 781-592-6167.