Thread: Dreamers arrested after protest inside U.S. Capitol

N.J. Dreamers arrested after protest inside U.S. Capitol

USA TODAY NETWORK Steph Solis, @stephmsolisPublished 3:58 a.m. ET Dec. 8, 2017 | Updated 4:33 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2017


(Photo: Courtesy of the Seed Project)


Two New Jersey Dreamers were arrested Thursday after staging a protest inside the U.S. Capitol against the omnibus spending bill.

Osvaldo Rodriguez, 26, of Red Bank and Piash Ahamed, 27, of Colonia, and a third Dreamer, Diana Concepcion Gomez Moran, were arrested and charged with crowding, obstructing or incommodity, a municipal violation after conducting sit-in inside the Senate office building, according to activists and Capitol police.

They led around 50 demonstrators through the building demanding legislators reject the spending bill unless they also move forward on a legislative fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — all while the threat of a government shutdown over the immigration issue looms over Washington, according to a news release from the advocacy group the Seed Project.

At issue is a legislative fix to DACA, the Obama-era executive order that offered protections, work permits and driver’s licenses to young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children. President Trump rescinded the program Sept. 5 and said the program would start phasing out March 5, 2018, leaving Congress six months to come up with a fix.

Democrats called for passing the Dream Act, which would make protections for Dreamers and possibly a path to citizenship federal law.

More than 700,000 DACA recipients live in the country, including an estimated 22,000 in New Jersey.

“The end of DACA puts me, my family and 800,000 Dreamers at risk of deportation. I will no longer stay silent - I can’t afford to stay silent about my undocumented status,” Ahamed, a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who was born in Bangladesh, said in a statement.

“That is why I was arrested in Washington, D.C. as a volunteer for the #OurDream campaign. Like so many leaders in our nation’s history such as Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, I am taking a stand for what I believe is right.”

More: Trump's DACA reversal won't only hurt dreamers
Related: Feds will process DACA renewals that missed deadline because of slow mail

The group staged a mock Congressional hearing around 2 p.m. Thursday inside the building, drawing around 50 activists. Protesters shared testimonies and led a crowd chanting “no dream, no deal,” according to a statement from the Seed Project.

Eight demonstrators began a sit-in and occupied Emancipation Hall for about 20 minutes before being arrested and removed from the Capitol.

Capitol police officer Eva Malecki, a department spokeswoman, confirmed officers responded to a report of unlawful demonstration activities on the third floor of the Hart Senate Office Building for reports of unlawful demonstration activities.

Democrats are pushing for an immigration bill to pass before the end of the year and May, while many Republicans say a legislative fix to the DACA program shouldn’t be crammed through before the end of the year. Some Democrats say they are ready to go into a shutdown if need be over DACA.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who is leading efforts to pass a bill that would offer recipients a pathway to citizenship, said that what Republicans have presented so far “cannot be considered a good faith effort to provide protection for the Dreamers.”

Trump blames Democrats for the possibility of a government shutdown over a DACA fix. He called it dangerous.

”They want to have illegal immigrants pouring into our country,” he told reporters Wednesday, according to NPR.
Rodriguez, who also organized an immigration rally in Red Bank last week, said he would continue to fight for DACA protections as well as other measures for those who lack legal status.

'Defend Our Immigrant Communities' held a rally on Capitol Hill, with tens of thousands of immigrants, activists, and allies. (Dec. 6) AP


“We’re going to do whatever it takes to fight for our right to live in this country we call home,” said Rodriguez, who arrived in the U.S. as a child from Mexico. “This spending bill is an example of how Congress puts our dreams for sale without consideration for our lives.”

Juan Pablo, a volunteer organizer for the Seed Project and also a DACA recipient who lives in Lodi, said Dreamers who participated in the demonstration received legal consultation and access to a pro bono or discounted lawyer to fight their cases if they were arrested over civil disobedience.

“My philosophy tends to be whenever I lead action that it’s always the ones taking the risk who decide whatever risk they want to take,” said Pablo, 26, who was born in Colombia.

Rodriguez said the risk of arrests is worth the fight to stay out of the shadows.

“I’ve lived in the United States my entire life,” he added. “I adopted its culture and made it mine.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ice/933745001/

Somebody Call ICE: Illegal Aliens to ‘Take Over Congressional Hearing’ to ‘Demand Permanent Protection’ for DACA Kids

epa06374974 Protesters in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protest in the US Capitol Visitors Center Emancipation Hall before being arrested in Washington DC, USA, 07 December 2017. Democrats are pushing for a DACA fix before year's end as the Justice Department during the Trump administration has rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW (Photo: SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE)

Don’t they realize there DACA status can be revoked for being arrested.

Are they really that brazen and stupid?

I don't care how stupid they are.

Let them protest, get arrested and then deported!

One way to get all those DACA out of here!

Dwindle the numbers down to ZERO!

Originally Posted by lorrie

Don’t they realize there DACA status can be revoked for being arrested.

Are they really that brazen and stupid?

When the republicans and democrats in congress pass the immigration amnesty deal and Trump signs it the people who get arrested will get bonus points on their application for amnesty and background check, for fighting for amnesty, according to a DACA arrestee who was interviewed on the news last night. He said members of congressional staffs have told them that.