Holding up red placards with white letters proclaiming "Family Unity," more than 200 people marched in the rain from Olvera Street Historical Park to the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration on Temple Street Oct. 13, calling for an end to the family separation of undocumented immigrants.

"Do you feel good?" Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) shouted from the steps of the Los Angeles County building. "We feel good because we are not stopping. We feel good because we are pushing for immigration reform. Because in Washington sometimes they say, 'You've got to wait,' and we say, 'No Way!' We're pushing. We're walking. We're marching.

"And believe me," she declared, "we're going to keep marching and nothing is going to stop us."

Salas reported that similar demonstrations were being held that day across the nation in Washington, D.C., and Chicago as well as in the states of Wisconsin, Tennessee and Florida. She also noted that Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois would soon introduce comprehensive immigration legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mike Garcia, president of SEIU United Service Workers West, led a contingent of union members backing immigration reform. He stressed that as long as millions of undocumented workers were marginalized and vulnerable to exploitation from employers, all workers will be hurt by lower wages and job standards.

"If we don't win immigration reform over the next seven months, many of us may not have another shot at it for years and years to come - or in our lifetime," he said. "The problem we have is with Congress and the Senate and these blue dogs who are always fighting and resisting the change this country needs. It's time to legalize these hard-working 12 million undocumented workers who struggle and contribute to our economy and the success of our country every day."

Supporting organizations of the noon weekday downtown march and rally besides CHIRLA included the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Central American Resources Center, Korean American Services and Education Consortium, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and Our Lady Queen of Angels (La Placita) Church.

At the end of the rally, people were urged to send postcards to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, asking her to deliver on President Barack Obama's promise for a comprehensive immigration bill, and to text message the words "justice" (or "justicia" in Spanish) and dial 69866 to keep abreast of immigration reform action alerts.

"Is God on our side?" asked CHIRLA organizer Maria Rodriguez. "He is. God is with families, and God is with students, and God is with everybody who seeks justice. Did he march with us?"

"Yes!" the people answered.