When activism is personal, spiritual: Immigration advocates on their 60-mile march from Denver to Greeley

There’s a long history of Americans taking to the streets to make their voices heard. To march, and to protest has come to define one of the more powerful ways people participate in our democracy. 

Recently a group of local immigration activists embarked on a long-distance march that mirrored the multi-day marches of the Civil Rights Movement. Members of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition walked for four days on a 60-mile journey that began at the Colorado State Capitol. They slept in churches along the way and talked with community members before ending the march in Greeley at the district office of Rep. Yadira Caraveo, Colorado’s first Latina member of Congress. 

Activists want Caraveo, and Sens. Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper, to sign onto what is known as the registry bill. The federal legislation would update a decades-old law, creating a pathway for citizenship for millions of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more than seven years.

We heard from one of the people who marched — Omar Gomez, a Boulder County resident from Mexico — and Raquel Lane-Arellano of the Immigrant Rights Coalition. She helped organize the march and offered support to activists along their route.