Immigration reform march - Raymundo Vazquez, of Glendale, takes part in a demonstration and march in support of comprehensive immigration reform
Immigration reform march - Hector Campostizon of California takes part in a demonstration and march in support of comprehensive immigration reform
Maria Ruis sat in the shade cradling her 1-year-old disabled daughter, Gracie, Sunday afternoon before marching in favor of immigration reform.
Ruis, a restaurant manager and a housekeeper, said the United States is the only place where Gracie, who has Down syndrome, can receive proper medical care.
"We're not asking for anything for free. We work and we pay taxes here. This is my seventh year paying taxes here," Ruis said. "We're not all bad."
In fact, most undocumented immigrants are good, law-abiding residents of the U.S., said many requesting that President Barack Obama honor his campaign promise to reform immigration as soon as possible.
Hundreds of individuals participated in the United Farm Worker campaign "Con La Union de Campesinos Tendremos Papeles" (With the UFW We Will Have Papers) Sunday afternoon. The march began with a rally at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Park and ended at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown Phoenix.
Phoenix was the last stop of a series of celebratory rallies across various states, including California, Oregon and Washington, asking that the U.S. government honor undocumented immigrants' contributions to the American economy.
Key figures at the event expect Obama to start looking at immigration reform next month.
"We are not here out of anger, we are here out of compassion," said Alejandro Chavez, Arizona chair of the United Farm Workers, organizer of the march. "We just want to make immigration affordable and accessible for more people. You shouldn't have to wait 10 to 15 years to become an immigrant."