Over the last few weeks, a several questions have been posed consistently: Is immigration reform dead?  Does targeting the President mean you are giving up?

The answer perhaps can be seen through action.  Over 70 events will be held on and around April 5th to send a clear message: Two Million, Too Many.  #Not1More deportation.  People from all walks of life are organizing vigils, they are walking many miles to detention centers, holding workshops and forums, and rallying at local ICE offices, city halls and police departments.  Its happening in the big cities one would perhaps expect, and in small towns you just might have never heard of.

I am reminded of Gina, a woman who is a member of the Congress of Day Laborers in New Orleans.  A few of us visited in February, and came to the weekly Congreso membership meeting.  350 people crowded the auditorium.  Seriously.  350.  You should come visit sometime.  And we talked with the group about April 5th, and asked if the Congreso would participate.  After a lively discussion, Gina gets up and says: On April 5th we will come out, because here in the South, we will not be left behind.

Although we cannot predict the outcome of specific legislative proposals what we know for sure, however, is that the movement for equality and inclusion is very much alive.  It is thriving.  And in demanding the President take immediate and bold action to provide relief and stop the deportation machine, that movement can breathe life into any reform effort and set the legislative debate in the direction of fairness and justice.

It should be abundantly clear.  No one is giving up.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Following the April 5th events, join us for a national call for updates and next steps.  In Washington DC, families who have pledged to no longer suffer the absence of the loved ones in silence are coming to the White House to ask the President to take action.  Already efforts are under way to organize for May 1st.  All of this is in addition to the ongoing hunger strikes at detention centers, the legislative battles at the state and local level to stop deportations and the innovative building between sectors and communities.

We are proud to stand with the organizations that have endorsed this day of action, spanning from our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, the student movement, the LGBTQ movement, the women’s movement; from those who are demanding similar reforms within the criminal justice system, continuing the struggle for civil rights and people of faith.  We hold out hope that the President will change course and become a true champion he campaigned to be.