Civil and Labor Groups Called For Immigration Vote

Rev. Jesse Jackson was amongst the group of speakers at the conference.

On Monday, in a news conference, the speakers, who included Jackson and Thomas Saenz from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) urged Congress to create better pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. 

"We would say to Congress and the Senate -- even the President -- that this issue must be dealt with," said Dr. John Mitchell, National Spokesperson for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, "The future of America is not in Syria, it is not in Iraq and it is not in Iran but in the barrios and the ghettos and the prisons of America."

"We should fight for a just, fair, and humane immigration policy now. We should wait no longer," said Jackson.

He went on to talk about how important family unification is and how a new immigration policy would help keep families together.

The conference was held in the MALDEF headquarters in Los Angeles.