SAN FRANCISCO, California - Hours after President Obama revived his call for immigration reform, dozens of community and religious leaders marched in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. They are more optimistic now than ever that the country’s immigration system could soon be fixed.

“Obama campaigned on hope and change. As a person of faith, I am hopeful and I believe in faith that it will happen. This country has gone through a lot of civil rights struggles in the past. It could take time but ultimately, I believe that justice will prevail,” Reverend Israel Alvaran of the group, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) said.

Alvaran is one of 100 people participating in a one-day hunger strike all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

CLUE will join other groups all over the country in an all-summer campaign for Obama and Congress to pass immigration reform.

Activists say over a hundred immigrants have died in immigration detention cells. They claim, in the last few years, more than 5,000 people have died while crossing the border.

Government data show that about 1,000 immigrants get deported every day.

Reverend Deborah Lee said, “There are families that are being separated from our congregation. There are whole congregations thinking of leaving Arizona, because of their immigration policies. There are pastors there that have been asked for their immigration papers. This is unjust. It’s not in line with our values as a faith community.”

The demonstrators support policies that would put a stop to ICE raids and police interrogations. They also want policies that would offer a pathway to legal status to over 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

Demonstrators say they are encouraged by President Obama’s revival of immigration reform. They said he addressed what they have been saying all along, that the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed right away. Balitang America