Nearly 350 Hispanic advocates representing more than 100 community-based organizations in 30 states traveled to Washington, D.C., the first week of March to engage their congressional representatives face-to-face over federal inaction on comprehensive immigration reform.

“We came to ask them to make it a priority,” said George Díaz, a spokesperson for Phoenix-based Chicanos por la Causa.

The visitors were invited by the National Council of La Raza for its 2010 Latino advocacy day. As they met with their House and Senate delegations, they shared personal stories that attached faces to the problems of migrants and their extended families.

“People are willing to listen to these experiences. That is what impacts the most – emotional stories,” Amanda Blackwell, a social worker with the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, explained.

Volunteer Jesús Quiñónez, who traveled from El Paso, Texas, to participate, seconded the emotion:  “I definitely think our visits make a difference.”

Renee Deyden of Phoenix, with Reform Immigration for America, is about to finish her master’s degree in social work. She visited 10 congressional offices.

“I have helped too many families that have been harassed by our sheriff (Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona) and seen families torn apart” in situations she described as hostile and fearful. “I have seen amazing kids with college degrees they cannot use — psychologists, engineers, or with a specialty in robotics, who are afraid of being taken to Mexico — for some a country they don’t even know.”

Deyden said she came to be their voice. “They can offer so much to this country. Twelve million people — a big number of lost hopes. What kind of hope am I going to give to these people when I go home?”

The visits did not convince her that things are about to change. “It was discouraging to hear so many no’s or next year or two years.”

Chicanos por la Causa’s Díaz expressed similar concerns. When asked about the chances of reform legislation passing this session, he answered, “Absolutely none.”

Ramón Espinoca, board member of the Connecticut Puerto Rican Forum, observed, “People already have preconceived notions of what immigration reform entails. Maybe it’s the fear which blinds them from seeing the reality of the issue. That reform is actually in tune with American values.”

Social worker Blackwell said she believed “our biggest barriers are that people are focusing on economic recovery. We are here to remind them that immigration reform and economic recovery go hand in hand.”

Senator Robert Menéndez (D-N.J.) who along with Rep Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) encouraged the advocates as they dispersed across Capitol Hill, “The economic situation we face should not be an obstacle to reform. It should be a reason for reform. The fact is that immigration reform should be considered part of our economic recovery plan. It will get more workers paying taxes, increase revenue, and stimulate the economy.”

Janis Bowdler, deputy director of NCLR’s Wealth-Building Policy Project credited those who came with doing a great job.  “Their inspiring visits are part of a continuous call leading up to a national march in Washington, D.C., on March 21,” she said. Organizers are projecting it will attract in excess of 100,000 protestors.

Over the balance of the year, NCLR intends to raise the voices of these leaders and make Congress and the Obama Administration accountability on major issues such as the economy, health care and immigration. “Sitting on the sidelines is just as bad as obstructing progress. We need elected officials to stand on the side of Latino families," Bowdler said.