Tens of thousands of immigrant supporters rally in Chicago against deportations

After finishing up guiding a bike tour yesterday, I caught the tail-end of the immigrant rally. This has been the third major rally in Chicago recently. I didn’t stick around to listen to the speakers but I was amazed at the sheer number of American flags present and couldn’t help but think about how someone must be making a lot of money off of this rally.

Immigration is a current hot-button issue, although it has been receiving less media and political attention recently. It’s a very difficult issue. I really wish that people would not come to this country illegally but if I were in their shoes I would want to come to the U.S. too. This is the land of opportunity. Where else can you find the American dream but America? Plus, people wouldn’t come to the U.S. illegally if they couldn’t find work. It seems like if we’re serious about stopping illegal immigration then we need to provide easier legal means to get here and stop people from hiring illegal immigrants (and therefore be prepared to pay a lot more for services and goods). It’s easy enough for me to just blog about this but for around a billion people around the world who live in extreme poverty the issues are often a matter of survival.

Many of the marchers were carrying signs saying, “No human is illegal.”

You can read an article about the march here.