Illinois' own Rep. Luis Gutierrez is growing impatient over his colleagues' unwillingness to put immigration reform at the top of the congressional agenda this year. Calling "justice for immigrants today's civil rights struggle,"  the Chicago Democrat is preparing to push the issue by introducing a set of comprehensive reforms in Washington next month. Standing alongside immigrants rights advocates from 26 states, Gutierrez led a rally on Capitol Hill yesterday in which he outlined his plan. "We are here to say that we will not rest until the raids stop and our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers are no longer torn apart by the government of the United States of America," Gutierrez said.  Watch (more video available here):

There are ten points that form the core of Gutierrez' proposal. First, it calls for the creation of an honest and strategic plan for defining the role immigrants play in the nation's workforce. Under a new a commission, visa quotas would be determined based on labor market demands, not political priorities. And Sen. Dick Durbin's DREAM Act would be rolled in to put undocumented college students and military enlistees on the path to citizenship and high-skilled jobs. Also, for current workers, a number of protections would be included in the reforms, such as the right to fair immigration proceedings (intended to outlaw the sort of abusive treatment that workers suffered in the aftermath of the notorious raid in Postville last year).

Border enforcement, an overhaul of the flawed E-Verify system, and a language requirement are also included in the bill in an effort to grab Republican support. While pressure from conservatives slowed momentum for reform under the Bush administration, Rep. Jan Schakowsky tells The Hill that the political tide may have turned:

“We’ll see how controversial it ends up being,” Schakowsky said. “There are lots of Republicans in districts that, if not now, will soon be relying on citizen immigrants to reelect them.”

Members of Illinois' congressional delegation have already made it clear that they're ready to do their part in Washington to turn these reforms into law. So have immigrants-right activists that Gutierrez has been rallying across Illinois and the nation over the past year. "It's been a long and sometimes painful journey,"Gutierrez told supporters yesterday, "but we are not tired yet."