By: Ashmar Mandou

Amid a packed room at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) office, 55 E. Jackson, U.S. Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Laura Garza, secretary-treasurer for SEIU Local 1, representatives from ICIRR, and several community leaders held a press conference Wednesday morning with a message, “President Obama we are ready for administrative relief.”

“We are ready for administrative relief. He made a promise to use earlier this summer and we are going to hold him to that promise,” said ICIRR’s CEO and Executive Director Lawrence Benito. The President is expected to announce administrative actions related to immigration and deportation before the end of the year and Congressman Gutierrez is urging the President to be bold. “We are making our efforts to put pressure on the White House,” said Congressman Gutierrez at Wednesday’s press conference. “Latino communities are angered and disillusioned by the democratic party. Now is the time for President Obama to keep his promise, now is the time to be bold, keep our families together.”