Valley clerics to join immigration rally

Los Angeles-area clerics and immigration rights advocates will join an expected tens of thousands of demonstrators at a weekend rally in the nation's capital to demand a legal path to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers. Immigration activists maintain that the moment for reform legislation is now and say they're hoping to pressure the White House to act quickly.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

"As community members, we will continue to ... keep building our political power to press Congress and the president to transfer words into law," said Angelica Salas, head of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), a human and civil rights group that is helping spearhead Sunday's march. Organizers hope the turnout for the immigration reform rally Sunday will exceed 100,000, with unions, churches and community-based groups leading the way.

"Any longer delay in immigration reform is so unacceptable for so many reasons," said businessman Robert Gittelson, a leader of the San Fernando Valley contingent traveling to Washington. "Democrats have a majority in both houses of Congress, and a president who said he wants to make this happen.