‘Yes we can.’ Tri-Cities immigrants call for reform during rally
About 50 United Farm Workers members marched in Pasco to call for a pathway to citizenship for people who have spent decades working in the U.S.
The group traveled Monday from a 28th Avenue parking lot to Court Street and lined a walkway over Highway 395 with signs and flags. They chanted “Si se puede,” a long-time rallying cry for, “Yes we can.”
They were greeted by passersby with horns honking in support.
The event was an attempt to jump start what seems to be a stalled effort to pass immigration reform. The march organized by the United Farm Workers of America was part of the National Day Without Immigrants.
Across the country, there were rallies demanding that Senate Democrats “push tirelessly for immigration reform to be included in the Build Back Better budget proposal.”
It’s an effort that has been fed by a viral TikTok video from Carlos Eduardo Espina, who started providing citizenship classes on the social media platform, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Zaira Sanchez, an emergency relief coordinator for the United Farm Workers Foundation, said many of the farm workers in the area saw the video and seeking out the UFW to see what it would do.
“Farm workers started looking to us and saying, ‘What are you guys doing?” Sanchez said. “The push that we’re trying to amplify is the need for immigration reform. ... What would this economy look like if immigrants were no longer contributing to the workforce, if immigrants were no longer buying from the stores or working in the restaurants.”
Sanchez said they are looking for legalization for several groups including undocumented farm workers, who constantly are at risk of going to work and never coming back home.
They consider the United States their home and have spent years, and in some cases decades, contributing to the economy.
One of those is Ana Cruz, who has spent 18 years in the U.S. She has picked apples, grapes and hops. The mother of five has worried she wouldn’t be able to see her children.
“It’s time to win that immigration reform,” she told the Herald.
She, along with others, said they want President Joe Biden to live up to his promise to fix America’s immigration system.
Sanchez said efforts appear to be at a standstill.
Last year, they brought hundreds of stories to Sen. Patty Murray’s office in Yakima.
“We’ve had a lot of different people join the movement because it’s so important. It’s so personal, and they want to see it happen,” she said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.