Citizenship rally draws hundreds

U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, speaking at one point in fluent Spanish, yesterday told some 800 immigrants and their supporters clamoring for comprehensive immigration reform, "Right now we have the moment" to change a "broken system."

"We cannot let up for a minute. We need your passion. We need your voices," Kennedy, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, said to the crowd packed into Faneuil Hall yesterday.

Joining the congressman was U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who told the crowd she would fight for "common-sense immigration reform," adding, "We need a path to citizenship."

The Faneuil Hall rally, which was followed by a march, was part of a "Power Up for Citizenship" campaign launched nationwide this weekend that included events in Nashua, N.H., and Providence. It aims to drum up pressure to force the U.S. Congress to pass immigration reform, particularly the adoption of a path to citizenship for the 11 million foreign-born residents living illegally in the country.

A bipartisan group of senators, dubbed the "Gang of Eight," is expected as soon as this week to unveil details of the overhaul plan they have been negotiating for months.

Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a Washington, D.C.-based group that seeks to limit immigration, said he is troubled by reports that the proposed reforms could, at minimum, call for immediate work permits for undocumented immigrants.

"They didn't come here to get citizenship, they came here to get jobs," said Beck, who predicted an "uphill battle" for the legislation. "They are holding jobs that there are Americans waiting in line for. It's an affront to the 21 million unemployed Americans."

While expecting some backlash on Capitol Hill, Warren and Kennedy both told reporters they are optimistic an immigration reform measure will pass.

"I'm going to hope that the will of the people will win out here. People want us to get this fixed," said Warren, who called the current immigration system "dysfunctional."

Putting a face on the hardships caused by that system were several speakers at yesterday's rally.

Ciara Lavery, 34, a former waitress living in South Boston, told of not being able to return to her native Ireland after the 9/11 terror attacks because of a crackdown on visas. "I was working two jobs, 80 hours a week, paying my taxes, acting like an American citizen, but not feeling like one," she said. "Freedom is a human right." ___

Joseph P Kennedy III