Hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians took to the streets one more time May 1 to honor the contributions of immigrant labor to the U.S. economy and to keep urging Congress and the American people to support humane and comprehensive immigration reform.

In Los Angeles, the afternoon march organized by the We are America Coalition began with closing normally bustling Wilshire Boulevard to traffic, creating a rare, traffic-free midtown street at lunchtime. That serenity was interrupted a couple of hours later by a tsunami-like groundswell of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators bearing horns, tambourines and drums as they made a 3.86-mile pilgrimage from MacArthur Park, through Koreatown, to reach Miracle Mile at La Brea Avenue. Participants wore white as a sign of peace and waved American flags to show their patriotism and fervent desire to become U.S. citizens.

The festive and peaceful atmosphere was imbued with the hope that undocumented immigrants might make their situation known to the American people and forge the alliances and political support necessary to legalize their situation and become full American citizens.

Adolfo and Maria Reyes traveled from Anaheim to participate in the march --- their lives deeply affected by the fact that neither has been able to secure legal papers in 20 years.

Three years ago, they applied for legal documents hoping that, through a family reunification process, Maria's sister could successfully advocate for them. But a judge denied the couple's application and they are now fighting deportation.

"We came for a better life," said Maria, who left Mexico at age 17 because of the dearth of jobs. In Southern California her husband has found maintenance work at a mall and a second job at a fast food restaurant. The couple --- parishioners at St. Boniface Church in Anaheim --- are raising their two teenagers, and Maria also works in childcare. They quickly pointed out that they pay their taxes and contribute to the U.S. economy.

"We live tranquil lives between our house and our jobs," added Maria. But the Reyeses have also paid a deep emotional price by being undocumented. When Adolfo's father died eight years ago, he couldn't risk the journey back to attend his father's funeral. He said the pain he felt was "terrible."

"For us, the immigration issue is very important. That's why we're here," said Adolfo.

The Reyes are among an estimated 11-12 million undocumented workers living in the U.S. It's been two decades since Congress last addressed immigration policy. Currently, the two main political parties are considering various legislative plans that would toughen border security while also allowing for guest worker plans and earned legalization. The often-contentious debate has sparked marches and rallies around the country.

The first massive gathering in Los Angeles took place March 25 when an estimated 500,000 people marched to City Hall. Subsequent rallies around the country took place April 10.

On May 1, a noon march in downtown L.A. drew an estimated 250,000 demonstrators and the afternoon march down Wilshire was estimated at 400,000 people. Similar rallies took place in cities across the archdiocese from Pomona to Oxnard as well as nationwide.

The afternoon march took demonstrators directly past the Archdiocesan Catholic Center. Guadalupe Garcia, who works as a secretary in the Office of Vocations, recruited half a dozen other family members to participate.

A legal immigrant from Guatemala, Garcia said she harbored no ill feelings towards those who came illegally. "I understand where they are coming from. They come here out of desperation, financially or politically," said Garcia. "We want something better for our children. We pay our dues and it's important to have justice on this issue."

Earlier in the day, Cardinal Roger Mahony led an educational immigration teach-in for employees at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center. The cardinal gave an overview of the American bishops' take on comprehensive immigration reform, including efforts to reduce poverty worldwide, expanding opportunities to reunify families, allowing for an orderly guest worker program, providing undocumented immigrants with a path to earned legalization --- which, he stressed, was not the same as blanket amnesty --- and restoring due process that would eliminate lengthy detention stays without charges.

Humberto Ramos, associate director of the Office of Religious Education, told archdiocesan employees about the death of his younger brother and the tough decision his father made to leave the family in Mexico and find work in the U.S. Two years later the family was reunited in the U.S. Ramos drew parallels between the desperation of immigrant families and the desperation Joseph and Mary must have felt when they left Bethlehem and fled to Egypt in order to protect Jesus from King Herod.

"The Gospel story does not offer details as to whether the Holy Family passed legally or illegally into Egypt," said Ramos. "No insights could be found to determine if they were a drain to the local economy or if they took advantage of the Egyptian social programs. Certainly, you could not call 'Jesus, Jose and Maria' criminals.

"The present-day debate led me to reflect on the millions of holy families leaving their homes in order that their family may live," he said.

Throughout the day, archdiocesan schools also held teach-ins. At St. Thomas the Apostle School near downtown Los Angeles, the entire student body prayed for fair and humane immigration reform. Students in grades six through eight held classroom forums to discuss immigration, and seventh grade students wrote letters to Senators as part of the discipleship unit in their religion class.

Parishioners at Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights announced their decision to continue fasting and praying for immigration reform until the celebration of Pentecost on June 4. Hundreds of parishioners have been participating in fasting and prayer since Feb. 1.

One L.A. member churches participated in rallies in Pomona, Maywood, Long Beach and Huntington Park as well as Los Angeles.

The march down Wilshire Boulevard concluded with an on-stage ecumenical gathering of religious leaders from Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions, including Cardinal Mahony, who walked the length of the march.

"We are here today to honor our immigrants. Together we are America," said the cardinal.

Prominent on stage were African American ministers, many of them lending their confidence and wisdom to the new emerging civil rights movement. The eminent civil rights leader Rev. James Lawson, who accompanied Martin Luther King, Jr. on many marches, said he was honored to have walked with immigrants on May 1.

"In the name of God, no human is illegal or undocumented," said Rev. Lawson. "All human beings are children of God."

Making the return pilgrimage back down Wilshire Boulevard, following the conclusion of the march, Adolfo Reyes said he was moved to see African American religious leaders among many other supporters. "The people have now united," said Reyes. "I'm optimistic we're going to get a better law."

Editor's note: For more information on the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform, see www.justiceforimmigrants.com.