Once health care steps off the stage as the nation’s No. 1 issue, people in cities like Kenosha will make all the difference in the country’s other long-simmering social debate: immigration reform, a speaker said Sunday.

“We’re not going to win this in Chicago or New York or San Francisco or Miami,” said Gabriel Gonzalez, a national director from the Center for Community Change in Washington. D.C.

“We still have to do it. We still have to show up. We still have to have big numbers,” Gonzalez continued. “But we’re not going to win it there. That’s just to get in the door.

“We’re going to win it in places like Kenosha. And we’ll win it with people like you.”

Gonzalez was one of six speakers who gathered for an immigration forum Sunday afternoon at St. Joseph High School, 2401 69th St., in Kenosha.

Nearly three dozen people attended the 35-minute meeting, which was sponsored by Congregations United to Serve Humanity (CUSH).

The event was more low-key than a high-energy rally in August at St. Mark Catholic Church in Kenosha, which CUSH hosted to announce its campaign for immigration reform as a local effort coordinated as part of a national campaign, including a local task force.

“It was just a small start,” Sandy Milligan, CUSH president, said of the August rally. “It will take everyone working together to make immigration reform a reality.”

Her hope: Society will reject current immigration policy, which creates a “permanent underclass” exploited for its unfairly compensated labor.

“Can we do it? Yes we can! Si, se puede!” Milligan said, invoking civil rights activist Cesar Chavez’s famous phrase, which has become a mantra among immigration reformists.

Camille Flores echoed Milligan’s message.

“To make comprehensive immigration reform a reality, we need your support,” said Flores, a member of the CUSH Immigration Task Force. “We need to come out of the dark and push this effort forward.”

Gonzalez, who once lived in Michigan City, Ind., said he understood how difficult it can be to stand up, especially in a city with a sometimes-small town feel, like Kenosha.

But, he said, “If you stand up, instead of being silent, it makes all the difference.”

Gonzalez also encouraged supporters to stay motivated as the nation’s attention is fixed on health care reform. When that focus shifts — he predicted Washington’s eye could again settle on the immigration debate early next year — Gonzalez said those working for immigration reform must be ready.

“We have from now until May,” Gonzalez said, explaining that supporters should expect renewed debate about immigration through the spring, with special focus on the issue in February from the Center for Community Change.