May 21 2010
Dream Activists Stage Protests in Arizona and Los Angeles
Nine people demonstrating in support of the DREAM Act were arrested yesterday after blocking traffic for several hours in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles. Two hundred immigrant rights protesters marched in a circle on Wilshire boulevard as motorists were rerouted by the police. The action was the second this week in support of the federal legislation that would provide undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors the opportunity to pursue legal status through higher education or service in the military. On Monday, five immigrants, three of them undocumented, donned caps and gowns as they sat down and refused to leave the Tucson, Arizona office of Senator John McCain. Calling for the passage of the DREAM Act on the anniversary of the Brown v. the Board of Education decision, four of the protesters were arrested on federal misdemeanor trespassing charges. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the three undocumented protesters now facing deportation proceedings starting on June 16. Dubbed as the “DREAM Act 5,” Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo, Tania Unzueta, Raul Alcaraz, and Lizbeth Mateo sought to draw attention to the federal legislation. While Senator McCain has sponsored the DREAM Act in the past, he has not fully supported it this year as he faces a tough primary election challenge. A spokeswoman for Senator McCain said that the protesters, “have a right to peacefully protest in the senator’s office” and that the Senator “understands the students’ frustrations.” However, she added, that protesters “should focus their efforts on the President and the Democrats that control the agenda in Congress.”
GUESTS: Lizbeth Mateo, co-chair, co-founder of DREAM Team LA, one of the “DREAM Team 5”
One Response to “Dream Activists Stage Protests in Arizona and Los Angeles”
Finally! ICE “detained” some obviously illegal immigrants, and they didn’t have to ask for ID, because they were sitting right there!
When are we going to stop letting people who shouldn’t be here dictate our agenda, set our priorities. They come across as innocent, “we are only trying to get our education so that we can contribute to society” nonsense. Just like the Reagan amnesty, if we pass the DREAM Act, they we will have hundreds of millions of illegal aliens who will rush across our border with their children so that they can take advantage of free education and financial aid. Oh, I am sure that since they are illegal and have no ties here, they will certainly be so grateful to US that each will repay his/her student loan on or before the time it is due…not! We have enough problems getting them to returm for a court date… Wake up America!!!