WASHINGTON D.C. — After a 100-mile journey, six Chicago women are marching into Washington D.C. Tuesday as Pope Francis is slated to meet with the President and Congress.
With a symbolic 100-mile, seven-day walk from Pennsylvania to D.C., the 100 women — most of whom are Hispanic, many of whom are undocumented — are urging Pope Francis to advocate on behalf of undocumented immigrants and call for an end to immigrant detention in the United States.
After a news conference at Cultura in Pilsen, 1900 S. Carpenter St., on Sept. 14, the six Chicago women, four of whom are undocumented immigrants and some of whom are from Pilsen, traveled to Pennsylvania to meet the other activists before departing on their journey.
Maria Elena Orozco, a member of Chicago Community and Workers Rights, is among the Chicago women marching. Orozco is the undocumented mother of three children who are United States citizens, and her 4-year-old child is accompanying her on the march.
“I want the Pope to listen to our voices and relay our message to President Obama: We all deserve to live with justice and dignity,” Orozco said before the march. “One hundred miles is a lot, it is a big sacrifice that we are willing to make to accomplish our objective, but if we compare one hundred miles to all of the injustices, the violations, and the hours and hours of work we endure in this country, [then] one hundred miles is nothing!”
Six Chicago women are among the 100 women marching into Washington D.C. Tuesday as Pope Francis is slated to meet with the President and Congress. [We Belong Together]
Orozco is joined by Genoveva Ramirez, Alejandra Cabrera, Rosi Carrasco, Reyna Wences and Jessica de La O on the march.
The women began their 100-mile journey on Sept. 15 outside of the York Detention Center in York, Penn., making stops in New Freedom, Penn., Monkton, Md., Lutherville-Timonium, Md., Baltimore, Md., Jessup, Md. and Silver Spring, Md. They are set to arrive Tuesday when the Pope will be speaking to Congress and meeting with the President.
Pope Francis will visit the U.S. for the first time when he arrives in D.C. from Cuba on Tuesday afternoon.
After bringing their message to the Pope, the women will host a closing ceremony outside of the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. at 4 p.m. Tuesday, where they will be joined by others for the last three miles of the journey, ending at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in McPherson Square in D.C.
The march, called One Hundred Miles, One Hundred Women, is sponsored by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, We Belong Together and several immigrant and labor advocacy groups.
Six Chicago women are among the 100 women marching into Washington D.C. Tuesday as Pope Francis is slated to meet with the President and Congress. [We Belong Together]
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