Migrants walk 40 miles from San José and Petaluma to the San Francisco Federal Building to remind Congress it’s been nearly 40 years of inaction on immigration legislation.
CONTACTS: Renee Saucedo, Petaluma, Northern California Coalition For Just Immigration Reform, (707) 273-2974, reneesaucedo8@gmail.com.
Misrayn Mendoza, San Jose, Amigos de Guadalupe, (408) 426-0131, mmendozarivera@amigosdeguadalupe.org.
Petaluma, California – As 40 years of congressional inaction on immigration reform near, hundreds of immigrant community members, allies, and supporters will hit the hot highways of Northern California on Saturday, August 5, 2023 from Petaluma and San Jose concurrently on a 40-mile plus walk that will culminate in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco on Monday, August 7, 2023.
The “All In for Registry” walk is organized by dozens of immigrant rights organizations in the Bay Area and northern California, and members of the Northern California Coalition for Just Immigration Reform (NCCJIR). Organizers expect hundreds to walk over 40 miles plus from either starting point in Petaluma or San Jose to demand respect for human rights at the U.S.-Mexico border and to press Congress to pass H.R. 1511 (known as the “Registry Bill”) which would allow approximately 8 million undocumented people currently living in the U.S. to apply for legal permanent residency.
Walkers from throughout California will join this walk as it launches a series of August and September actions in support of a registry update.
Press is invited to join the walk at any point or at rest stops.
WHAT: “All in for Registry” 40-mile plus walk with hundreds of immigrant community members, allies, and supporters from Petaluma and San Jose to San Francisco. The three day walk will involve hundreds of persons calling on Congress to act on immigration legislation now.
WHEN: Saturday, August 5, 2023 – start of the walk in Petaluma and San Jose concurrently
Sunday, August 6, 2023 – day 2 of the 40-mile plus walk
Monday, August 7, 2023 – day 3 and arrival in San Francisco
WHERE: Itinerary included below from the Petaluma route and the San Jose route.
WHY: H.R. 1511, the “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929,” (HR 1511). or “Registry Bill” updates a 1929 law so that undocumented individuals may apply for legal permanent residency as long as they have lived in the country for at least seven years. It is estimated that approximately eight million of the approximately eleven million undocumented people in the U.S. will benefit under this new update of current law.
“Is this the kind of country we want to be, one that causes injury and death to families, including children, who migrate to the U.S. fleeing economic and political oppression?” states Socorro Diaz, leader of NCCJIR and of ALMAS LIBRES, an Immigrant & Indigenous women’s empowerment organization in Sonoma County. “No more suffering! We ask that Congress pass H.R. 1511 so that migrants have a reasonable process to apply for residency, and they may come out of the shadows of work exploitation and fear.”
“I haven’t seen my children in many years because there is currently no way for me to apply for legal residency,” explains Enma Delgado, leader of NCCJIR and of “Mujeres Unidas y Activas,” an Immigrant women’s organization in San Francisco and the East Bay. “It is immoral for so many millions of people left with an undocumented status to have to remain separated from their families and loved ones.”