Thread: Immigrant groups rally at Liberty State Park against deportations

Immigrant groups rally at Liberty State Park against deportations


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY MARCH 5, 2014, 4:13 PM
BY MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

At Liberty State Park, participants, which included clergy, faith leaders and youth, carried placards and then chanted in both English and Spanish “You can’t stop justice” and “You can’t stop liberty.”


With Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as their backdrop, dozens gathered at Liberty State Park on Wednesday to kickoff a series of vigils, protests and rallies across New Jersey designed to urge the United States government to halt detentions and deportations of immigrants who live illegally in the country.

The events, organized by the Catholic organization Pax Christi New Jersey and scheduled to coincide with Ash Wednesday, came a day after President Obama presented a proposed budget that would set aside additional funds for immigration enforcement. With the 2 millionth deportation looming under the Obama administration, and after Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives said they will likely not bring immigration reform to a vote this year, advocates acknowledged they face an uphill battle.

“Obama has made so many promises which he has not kept, and it’s sad to know that he’s the president that has supported more than one million deportations while he is in office,’’ said Sally Pillay, of Hackensack and program director for First Friends, a non-profit organization that has volunteers who visit detainees. “It breaks our heart and there is limited communication on this issue.”

Others were hanging their hopes on New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, one of the eight senators who pushed for the passage of bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate last year. On Tuesday evening, it was reported that Menendez, speaking at an awards dinner at the National Council of La Raza, called on the Obama administration to stop the “needless deportations that are splitting apart families and communities.”

“Any victory you have to celebrate, and this is a victory. Menendez has been our advocate,’’ said Kathy O’Leary, of PAX Christi. “It’s a huge step forward. “He’s been a leader all along and for him to take the step I think its just tremendous.”

Immigration reform has drawn its opponents, many who say that a path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million to 12 million undocumented in the country will reward those who have broken the law. Others have raised concerns about jobs going to immigrants rather than unemployed citizens and legal residents.

At Liberty State Park, participants, which included clergy, faith leaders and youth, carried placards, some that read “No Human Being is Illegal” and then chanted in both English and Spanish “You can’t stop justice” and “You can’t stop liberty.” Rev. Bernard Hebda, presiding Co-Adjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, also attended and lead the group in prayer.

O’Leary, carrying a loudspeaker, talked about the contributions of immigrants in the past, and how the newly arrived in this country still carry the same hopes and desires to provide for themselves and their families.

“The people who came through Ellis Island like my great-grandparents they were poor laborers and they came here to feed the industrial machine, they were coal miners, and factory workers and mill workers, they are no different than many of the immigrants who come here today to work in our low paying jobs,’’ O’Leary said. “They have a dream to have a better life.”

One of the youngest participants was Jamil Sunsin, 13, a U.S. citizen who has been separated from his Honduran-born parents and sister since the fall. When Sunsin’s parents were detained and faced deportation three years ago, his sister found out that she was undocumented, and the family flew back to Honduras. Sunsin moved back to New Jersey in October because of the dangers Honduras posed, and now lives with his cousin, Rosa Santana, in Jersey City. Santana, who is now Sunsin’s legal guardian, said the family is trying to find a way back to each other.

“I feel sad, it’s not the same,’’ said Jamil Sunsin, a seventh-grader who said he’s not sure when he will see his parents and sister again.

Also in attendance were students from Don Bosco Preparatory High School’s Ironman Speak Out Club. Members of the club, which centers on social justice issues, have been attending similar rallies for the past two years, and recently some students began to write letters to detainees in New Jersey.

“We really think we need to change our laws to keep families together, and so human beings can live as brothers and sisters as it was intended to be,’’ said Joseph Bucci, 18, a senior and one of the founders of the club.

After the park rally, advocates were scheduled to continue vigils and rallies in various places in Newark, and at the Elizabeth Detention Center, which has been used as a place to keep detainees by Immigration and Custom Enforcement for nearly two decades.

The day’s events, called “Sowing Injustice, Reaping Sorrow,” were organized by Pax Christi, and co-sponsored by more than a dozen other organizations that work with immigrants across the state.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Immi....eWemqkOa.dpuf

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