Washington (AFP) – Twenty immigration reform activists ended a fourth week of fasting Thursday just steps from the US Capitol building, as they received support from top Democratic lawmakers.

About 200 people have participated in different stages of the hunger strike since November 12, and the last 20 remained in tents pitched on the Mall, the grassy esplanade in the heart of the US capital city.

On a sunny, but chilly afternoon, several hundred activists marched and chanted from the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress, to pay tribute to the strikers sitting in a tent several yards (meters) away to pay tribute to the strikers sitting in.

“What do we want? . When do we want it? Now! ” tweeted the Justice and Witness Ministries, which supported the effort.

The Alliance for Citizenship, a national coalition of pro-reform groups, urged supporters to call Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor to demand reform of the country’s beleaguered immigration system.

Rudy Lopez, 43, was among activists who fasted for 22 days, according to strike supporters Faith in Public Life.

Organizers said the strike would continue in different states.

The hunger strikers’s efforts were recognized early on by leading Democratic members of the House of Representatives, where immigration has stalled in the face of opposition from the Republican majority after passage by the Democratically-held Senate.

“We thank you for your sacrifice,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said.

“We are forever in your debt.”

And Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid tweeted that he met with activists to “express my commitment to keep fighting until immigration reform reaches the finish line.”

The strikers even got a visit from President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle last month.

From the steps of the Capitol, Democratic leaders made a final call for Boehner to put the HR15 immigration bill to a vote on the House floor on Friday, the last day Congress will be in session this year.

“It is a good day. We are going to win this,” said Democratic Representative Xavier Becerra, a staunch backer of immigration reform.

The reform, which would bring one of Obama’s major 2008 and 2012 presidential campaign promises to fruition, was adopted by the Senate, dominated by Obama’s Democratic allies, in June.

The Senate plan, crafted and approved with Republican support, would give some 11 million people living illegally in the country US citizenship under strict conditions and after a minimum transitory 13-year period.

It would also strengthen the border with Mexico and reorganize the visa system to give priority to high-demand fields, including engineers and farm workers.

House Republicans are more hostile toward what some conservative critics see as “amnesty” for the millions of foreigners living illegally in the United States.

Boehner has said he was willing to have his chamber consider such a measure, but in a piece-by-piece manner.

His Republican Party is under heavy pressure ahead of 2016 presidential elections to improve its standing among Hispanic voters, a critical group that has seen its numbers grow rapidly in recent years and for whom immigration is a cherished political goal.

• Politics & Government
• Government
• immigration reform