FRESNO, California – Protesters gathered at the corner of Herndon and Armstrong avenues in Clovis last week outside the district office of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Clovis rally was one of three held to pressure McCarthy to pass the immigration reform bill awaiting approval in the House of Representatives. Protests were also held at McCarthy’s offices in Bakersfield and Washington, D.C., on the same day.
“We want a bipartisan bill that not only helps people who qualify to legalise their status, but we also want to make sure that no one is left out,” said Giselle Gasca, an organizer with the social justice organisation Poder Latinx.
The bill, H.R. 1511, would expand the Register Act of 1929, a law that established a process for immigrants to apply for green cards. The revision aims to provide permanent residency to undocumented people who have lived in the US for at least seven years.
The programme hasn’t been updated in 37 years, according to Representative Zoe Lofgren, one of the bill’s authors.
The protesters said they planned to present a petition outlining the importance of the legislation and its potential impact on the national economy. But according to Gasca, the group was unable to arrange a meeting with McCarthy’s office in mid-August.
“You would think that with the House in recess, [McCarthy] would be talking to his constituents,” Gasca said. “You’d think he’d be taking meetings. But we haven’t heard a word from his office.”
At their Friday rally, the group slipped their petition and a poster under the locked office door.
According to protest organisers, the Bakersfield and Washington groups were also unable to get into McCarthy’s office to deliver the petition.
McCarthy’s office did not respond to KVPR’s request for comment.
