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150-mile walk for immigration reform to end in Tampa

Walkers for immigration reform cross South Lakewood Drive at Brandon Blvd on Monday morning en route to Tampa for the final leg of their march.
Walkers for immigration reform cross South Lakewood Drive at Brandon Blvd on Monday morning en route to Tampa for the final leg of their march.
Published Oct. 14, 2013

TAMPA — More than 2,000 supporters of immigration reform are expected to gather in Tampa on Monday night to mark the end of a seven-day walk designed to draw attention to their cause.

Plans call for the group to meet at 7 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Tampa. Bishop Robert N. Lynch, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, plans to join the group and lead a prayer service and candlelight vigil.

The group's efforts called, "The Way for Citizenship," are part of a campaign lead by PICO United Florida, a coalition of congregations, to influence immigration reform. For the last seven days, 11 people have participated in a 150-mile walk from Orlando to Tampa, making stops at churches along the way. The 11 walkers, known as pilgrims, are symbolic of the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants, organizers said.