Immigration Reform 2013 News: Advocates Rally on Long Island on Behalf of East End Immigrants

Immigration reform activists fasting in the name of reform on Capitol Hill aren't the only demonstrators keeping the issue alive in Washington.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, advocates held a rally in Southampton, Long Island, N.Y. in an effort to push Congress to pass comprehensive legislation that would provide the 11 million undocumented residents living in the U.S. with a pathway to citizenship.

Organized by the East End Immigrant Advocates, more than 200 supporters rallied in the Suffolk County town holding signs that urged the House of Representatives to take up the bipartisan reform bill that passed in the Senate over the summer.

The East End Immigrant Advocates also said it is trying to draw awareness to immigrants living in the East End who are relied upon for their services, but are often overlooked politically.

"You do feel sometimes you're not wanted," Benny Torres, of Hampton Bays, told Newsday. "They want us to mow the lawns and paint houses. But they don't want us to live here."

According to the East End Beacon, Executive Director of L.I. Jobs with Justice Anita Halasz and attorney/community organizer Ana Martinez were listed as guest speakers at the event.

However, across the street, four people protested the rally.

East End Tea Party chairwoman Lynda Edwards, who was holding a sign that read, "Don't Jump the Fence, Obey the law," argued that immigrants are taking jobs away from legal residents. "There are lines of people trying to get jobs," she told Newsday.

Jim MacDonald, another one of the four anti-immigration protesters, said that, "These people demanding citizenship, and they're not even bothering to learn how to speak English."