Pinays to March for Immigration Reform, Pope Francis
Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
Posted at 09/18/2015 3:00 PM
LOS ANGELES – Some Filipinos are among a few of the 100 women that will walk 100 miles for the “We Belong Together” campaign in honor of immigration reform and the first U.S. visit of Pope Francis.
“This issue of immigration is a human rights issue. It’s also an issue of women in particular because those that are impacted by all these policies, this broken immigration system. Those impacted the most are women and children,” said Aqui Soriano Versoza of the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC).
“We Belong Together” will begin its trek on September 19th at the New York County detention center in Pennsylvania as Pope Francis arrives in the US. For several days, the group will walk making stops at churches and visiting communities along the way.
“I am very supportive of the 11 million because I work with them. I live with them. I was a caregiver once and I have a lot of kababayans here in the US that desperately need that,” said Myrla Baldonado of the Pilipino Workers Center.
Pope Francis is scheduled to be in the US next week. His visits will include a trip to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 24 where the pope is expected to bring up issues of immigration during his visit.
“For him to be ignored is not right, morally not right. Pope Francis will be speaking on behalf of the undocumented will be a big success. He will bring God wherever he goes,” said Lolit Lledo of PWC.
Of the 100 women walking, five Filipinos will be among the Los Angeles delegation. Three more women from the Coalition of Humane Immigration Reform LA will join the members of the Pilipino Workers Center.