The Express-Times – October 21, 2013, by Colin McEvoy -

Hilda Gonzalez, who moved from Mexico to Allentown 12 years ago, was handed a speakerphone tonight and asked to tell an assembled crowd of 50 people her personal story.

But when the time came, Gonzalez said she couldn’t bring herself to do it because her own experiences felt so small compared to the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America.

“These are immigrants who have experienced the fear of being separated from their families,” she said. “Immigrants who have many times had to duck their heads. Immigrants who aren’t treated with dignity.”

Gonzalez was one of about 50 people who took to the streets of Allentown tonight in protest, urging their legislators to take action on immigration reform now that the government shutdown has been resolved.

“I think it’s well overdue that we as a nation do the right thing,” said Guillermo Lopez Jr., of Bethlehem, as the group marched on Hamilton Street. “No human is illegal. That is the truth of this land.”

With the debt ceiling crisis temporarily averted, President Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill by year’s end.

The Senate approved such a bill in June that included investments in border security and a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. But the House did not take action on such a bill and many in Congress have expressed skepticism that action will be taken now.

The Allentown protesters held such signs that read “We yearn to breathe free” and “We bleed red, white and blue,” and chanted phrases such as “Undocumented, unafraid” and “No papers, no fear.”

They carried candles and flashlights, which symbolized the hope that reform could bring immigrants out from the darkness, according to organizer Max Cohen, of the Center for Popular Democracy, which organized the event in conjunction with Communidad Unida de Lehigh Valley.

A similar rally will be held Tuesday in Easton, urging support for a resolution Easton City Council is scheduled to consider urging Congress to enact immigration reform.

That rally, run by Organizing for Action, will be held 5 p.m. in Centre Square, with the city council meeting starting at 6 p.m.

The Allentown protesters voiced particular hope that U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, who they called a “level-headed, moderate Republican voice in Congress,” would be an outspoken voice on the issue.

Dent previously said the Senate’s bill had major problems, saying the border security elements in particular needed strengthening.

“We will work on practical solutions that respect the rule of law while responsibly dealing with the 11 million people, slightly less than the population of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who are in this country unlawfully,” Dent said in July.

But the protesters said they hope Congress will move quickly before the midterm elections become too much of a distraction.

Among the participants was Adrian Shanker, president of Equality Pennsylvania, who said there are about 1 million gay, bisexual or transgender immigrants in the United States, and about one-third are undocumented.

“We can’t be equal until we are all equal,” Shanker said. “Eleven million people live in the shadows. That is not freedom.”

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