Organized by the United Church of Christ and as part of its General Synod 2013, about 200 people marched on the sidewalk in downtown Long Beach, first to the office of Immigration Customs and Enforcement, then to City Hall, and finally to the office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal, on Monday, July 1, in support of just and comprehensive immigration reform.
While the UCC organized the march, it was endorsed by the Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition, FilipinoMigrantsCenter, and other local immigration rights groups.
While marching, one chant was “We are people. We are not illegal.” Another chant was “Stop deportations now.” A third chant was “The people united will never be defeated.” A fourth chant was “Education, not deportations.” Also to the tune “Down by the Riverside,” the marchers, while walking, sang, “We’re all God’s children. We ain’t going to build that border fence.”
Some marchers wore buttons, which said, “Jesus was a low-wage worker.”
One marcher was Kirk Laubstein, 32. Laubstein, who is a third-year student at the Chicago Theological Seminary, said, “It says in the Bible God welcomes everyone … that is what we should do in America.”
Another marcher, Beverly Travers, 65, who is from Arizona, said she was marching because she opposes deportation of immigrants.
A third marcher was Rev. Dale Parson. Parson said that he was “marching in solidarity with those whose daily lives are impacted by the reality of deportation and discrimination. . . .We’re marching for the rights of all immigrants, their families, for justice, for equality.”
At each of the three stops a religious ritual was performed; at the immigration office, holy water was sprinkled; at City Hall, feet were washed; and at congressional office, bread was broken.
At the office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal, his field representative, Irantzu Pujadas thanked the marchers for their hard work and then read from Congressman’s statement of the previous week, which in part, said, “I look forward to supporting the comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House (of Representatives) that not only secure our borders, but protects our workers, reunites families, and offers an earned path to citizenship.”
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2 July 2013
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Organized by the United Church of Christ and as part of its General Synod 2013, about 200 people marched on the sidewalk in downtown Long Beach, first to the office of Immigration Customs and Enforcement, then to City Hall, and finally to the office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal, on Monday, July 1, in support of just and comprehensive immigration reform.
While the UCC organized the march, it was endorsed by the Long Beach Immigrants Rights Coalition, FilipinoMigrantsCenter, and other local immigration rights groups.
While marching, one chant was “We are people. We are not illegal.” Another chant was “Stop deportations now.” A third chant was “The people united will never be defeated.” A fourth chant was “Education, not deportations.” Also to the tune “Down by the Riverside,” the marchers, while walking, sang, “We’re all God’s children. We ain’t going to build that border fence.”
Some marchers wore buttons, which said, “Jesus was a low-wage worker.”
One marcher was Kirk Laubstein, 32. Laubstein, who is a third-year student at the Chicago Theological Seminary, said, “It says in the Bible God welcomes everyone … that is what we should do in America.”
Another marcher, Beverly Travers, 65, who is from Arizona, said she was marching because she opposes deportation of immigrants.
A third marcher was Rev. Dale Parson. Parson said that he was “marching in solidarity with those whose daily lives are impacted by the reality of deportation and discrimination. . . .We’re marching for the rights of all immigrants, their families, for justice, for equality.”
At each of the three stops a religious ritual was performed; at the immigration office, holy water was sprinkled; at City Hall, feet were washed; and at congressional office, bread was broken.
At the office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal, his field representative, Irantzu Pujadas thanked the marchers for their hard work and then read from Congressman’s statement of the previous week, which in part, said, “I look forward to supporting the comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House (of Representatives) that not only secure our borders, but protects our workers, reunites families, and offers an earned path to citizenship.”
Barry Saks 
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