Immigration Reform March

Jane McGrath | March 22, 2010 4:25 PM

While Congress was immersed in health care debate, an estimated 200,000 people were rallying for comprehensive immigration reform out on the National Mall on Sunday afternoon. Given the focus on health care, its as if these protesters didn't even register on the national radar. But they might start to register, once Obama "pivots" again, to this next hot-button issue.

The major themes of the day were to plead with President Obama to carry through with his promises for reform, ensure better treatment for immigrant workers and clear an easier path for citizenship. The highlight of the march came during a video message from the president, in which he invoked the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and promised to continue his work to forge a "bipartisan" solution. The speakers also pushed the importance of the 2010 midterm elections, calling immigration reform a "civil right issue" and the "single greatest issue of our generation."