Washington-area immigrant leaders are calling for a halt to immigration raids and plan to lobby lawmakers to give citizenship to the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States. The National Capital Immigrant Coalition, the group that organized last year’s 100,000-person march on the National Mall, is making its most aggressive demands since the movement helped halt a House bill that would have made felons of undocumented immigrants and anybody who aided them.

NCIC chairman Jamie Contreras said the United States needs reforms that make it possible for workers to come to the country in an orderly fashion instead of being made into criminals. He said raids are costly and tear apart innocent families without solving any problems.