As a massive crowd started to gather in Chicago, I went hunting for a live interview with someone who was taking part in this city's immigration rights march. Instead of finding one person, I found two -- two guys who didn't know each other until this morning.
Jose Garcia and Luiz Ramirez were standing behind a large banner and talking to each other about what they believe.
Jose, a retired high school teacher from Chicago's suburbs, came to the United States from Cuba when he was 15 years old. Luiz, a junior high school teacher who took the day off from work, emigrated from Guatemala almost 20 years ago. Both are U.S. citizens.
"It's a moral issue," Luiz said, explaining that he's marching because he believes immigrants are vital to the American economy. He thinks undocumented workers should not be thought of as lawbreakers, but as contributing members of society who are worthy of citizenship.
I asked, "Why now? What is it that is causing such an intense reaction in Chicago's Hispanic community?" After all, the quickly organized March 10th rally drew an estimated 100,000 people, and today's rally has been projected to be at least twice as large.
"It's that House bill," said Jose, referring to legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make illegal presence in the United States a felony, as opposed to a civil offense.
"That is an insult," Jose added. "That got a lot of people to come out."
Indeed, the scene before me is something of a coming out party. People who have spent little time on politics are now marching and expressing their beliefs, and in the case of Jose and Luiz, making friends.
The two strangers found they were both teachers, both graduates of the University of Illinois at Chicago. They plan to march together, sharing food from Luiz's stuffed backpack. They hope that those marchers who are illegal immigrants may someday become American citizens, just as they did.