Activists want Visclosky on stand

An East Chicago-based activist group is trying to pressure Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., into supporting immigration reform.

The Community Coalition for Immigrants, a group affiliated with the legal aid commission connected to St. Mary's Catholic Church, 812 W. 144th St., will spend Saturday standing outside Visclosky's home district office, 7895 Broadway, in Merrillville.

Activists previously met with Visclosky, only to have him take no stance.

Visclosky last week expressed "sympathy" for immigrants but is refused to commit to support any specific measure. For the activists, that is not good enough. They want Visclosky to commit support in hope it urges other members of Congress to back the issue.

Those who gathered at Visclosky's office demanded he sign a letter publicly condemning Arizona state officials who last month approved a new law requiring local police to enforce federal immigration laws -- a move perceived by some as harassment to people of Latino ethnic backgrounds.

Activists also want Visclosky to use what influence he has with President Barack Obama to urge the president to take a leadership role on the issue of immigration reform.

Coalition Chairman Tony Barreda expects the congressman to remain noncommittal. "I don't expect him to do either," he said.

"I believe that immigration reform begins with the proper enforcement of the laws already on the books, protecting our borders, holding unscrupulous employers accountable and more efficiently dealing with those who are abiding by the law," Visclosky said, adding that he is a co-sponsor of a bill to improve employee verification procedures while increasing border security.

The event is billed as an interfaith prayer vigil with assorted clergy joining the activists, although the property owners initially showed reluctance to allow people to pray on the premises. But clergy got other chances to express support for immigration reform.

The International Pentecostal Assemblies Ecumenical, based in Chicago Heights, and the South Suburban Action Council, will have members present in Calumet City today when the City Council considers a resolution preventing local officials from attending conferences in Arizona or doing business with Arizona-based companies.

Mitchell Johnson said clergy wanted to show support for Calumet City becoming the first Midwestern U.S. municipality to pass such a resolution. "We have to stick together to fight what amounts to discrimination," he said.

The Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, a legal aid group representing the interests of immigrant workers in the South Chicago and East Side neighborhoods, is among several urging the Chicago-based American Bar Association to cancel its Equal Justice Conference scheduled for today through Saturday in Phoenix.

Among other groups supporting the request were the National Day Labor Organizing Network, the Latino Union of Chicago and the Working Hands Legal Clinic.

Insofar as Indiana’s senior senator is concerned, Republican Richard Lugar has said he does not think a major overhaul of the immigration laws will pass this year. But he is working with Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin, of Illinois; Dianne Feinstein, of California; and John Kerry, of Massachusetts, to put together bills that would impact the lives of people who have immigration issues.