It seems like just yesterday that 300,000 demonstrators marched through downtown Chicago to protest the restrictive Sensenbrenner bill and rally in favor of comprehensive and just immigration reform. Unfortunately, in the four years since, Congress has not passed any significant federal legislation to repair the nation's patchwork immigration system and provide a path to citizenship for the nation's 12 million undocumented immigrants.

Meanwhile, some anti-immigrant lawmakers at the state level have been pushing for more punitive laws that don't tackle the problem in a coherent fashion. Just this week, the Arizona legislature passed a bill along party lines that would require police to make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of any person deemed "suspect" of living in the U.S. illegally. If the person can't produce documentation on the spot, they risk state criminal charges and fines. The Mexican embassy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce all stand opposed. One Democratic state senator even suggested Arizona could become the Alabama of the 21st century. Nonetheless, the state's Republican governor may sign the bill into law this week.

An infuriated Rep. Luis Gutierrez wrote over the weekend that the legislation is "one of the harshest assaults on basic civil rights in recent American history." This morning, the Chicago Democrat went a step further and urged a veto. He also warned of the dangers ahead if the immigration system is not improved. "Unless the President acts forcefully in the coming weeks to drive the immigration reform issue forward," said Gutierrez, "we are going to see a lot more of the devastation we are seeing in Arizona this week."

Illinois immigrant rights activists are angry, too. At a press conference this morning, the coalition renewed their commitment to march through the city streets on May 1 (in commemoration of May Day).  They also set a firm deadline of April 30 for the Senate to introduce its version of comprehensive immigration reform.

Furthermore, the activists are calling on Congress to pass the bill by June 15 and for the White House to implement an immediate moratorium on all "287 g" programs, which give state and local law enforcement authorities broad latitude to perform immigration law enforcement functions. "If this doesn't happen," said Emma Lozano of Centro Sin Fronteras, "on May 1, Obama and the Democratic Leadership will see millions of Americans walking away from them." Watch:

For those interested in participating, Chicago Jobs with Justice has more information about the upcoming May Day march.