Politics & Government

Supporters of Immigration Reform Deliver 500 Letters to U.S. Congressman Roskam

Supporters of immigration reform and Senate Bill 744 met in Cary and later delivered letters to U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam's office on Tuesday morning in Barrington.







Supporters of immigration reform gathered by the Cary Metra Station on Tuesday morning to display more than 500 letters written by Cary and Crystal Lake immigrant families to U.S. Congressman Peter Roskam.

Holding signs reading, "Justice and Dignity for All U.S. Immigrants," the peaceful demonstration included representatives from the League of United Latin American Citizens of McHenry County (LULAC) and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, an executive committee member of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement.


"Congressman Roskam continues to be out of touch with 85% of Illinoisan voters who support a path to citizenship and an Illinois business community that wants commonsense reform to strengthen Illinois’ economy," said Monica Trevino, communications director for Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

"As a leader of the Republican Party, Congressman Roskam has continued to fail to lead by blocking immigration reform and not coming up with solutions to fix the broken immigration system."

The demonstrators' letters were attached to paper plates and strung together because the group's final question to Roskam, they said, is: Does he "plan to feed the over 56,000 children who have been left without one or both parents in Illinois due to deportations?"

The group of supporters said they've been to U.S. Rep. Roskam's office, at 200 S. Hough St., in Barrington, many times, but he refuses to grant their request for a meeting, they said.

They believe he, as one of the highest ranking Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, is holding up Senate Bill 744, which calls for immigration reform. 

"We have the votes needed to pass the immigration reform act into law, but Rep. Roskam won't even bring the vote to the table," said Erendira Rendon, of the Illinois Coalition of Immigration and Refugee Rights in Chicago. Rendon grew up in Harvard.

"We are requesting a meeting with our Congressman."

Organizers of the demonstration said Roskam represents a district with a growing immigrant population, but alleges his actions show an anti-immigrant nature. 

Maggie Rivera, a Woodstock resident who serves as LULAC National Treasurer, told the attendees she wants Rep. Roskam to stop ignoring his constituents. 

"Stop ignoring the pain that our immigrant families go through every day," Rivera said.

 "For the first time in the struggle for immigration reform, we have the votes to pass a bill with a pathway to citizenship and now the Republican leadership including Deputy Whip Peter Roskam are standing the way of the vote." 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here