In the wake of President Obama's recent pledge to begin his push for comprehensive immigration reform this year, local activists today continued their campaign to ratchet up political pressure on the White House. Members of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) delivered more than 9,100 petitions to the Department of Homeland Security's Chicago office, urging Secretary Janet Napolitano to impose a moratorium on harsh enforcement tactics and the ensuing detention mess while potential reforms are debated.

Among the public officials on hand at an ICIRR press conference in the Loop was Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky. "The president, Barack Obama, said, 'We can get this done,' " the North Side congresswoman told reporters. "So why would the government persist in these policies of deportation, of dividing families? ... This is just wrong" Watch her remarks:

Democratic State Reps. Greg Harris and Lisa Hernandez -- along with Alds. Manny Flores (1st Ward), Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) and George Cardenas (12th Ward) -- echoed Schakowsky's calls for quick reforms. But it was Sister JoAnn Persch -- who has provided religious counseling to hundreds held at the McHenry County Jail and deported from the federal detention center in Broadview -- that best described the human toll: "We see the people being deported, shackled hands and feet with a chain around their waist. We are talking about human beings with human and religious rights. This system must change.  Now." Watch her remarks: