Thread: Illegal immigrants to rally, protest in Atlanta

Illegal immigrants to rally, protest in Atlanta
April 5, 2011
By KATE BRUMBACK - Associated Press

ATLANTA -- A group of illegal immigrants who were brought to this country as children plans to hold a rally Tuesday in downtown Atlanta and then sit down in an intersection to block traffic to draw attention to their situation.

The young people plan to speak out about their experiences and to publicly identify themselves as being in the country illegally at a demonstration on the downtown campus of Georgia State University. After the rally, they plan to go to a nearby intersection to block traffic.

"It's very important for us to do this right now because we see that here in the South there's a very hostile environment to undocumented immigrants," said Georgina Perez, a 21-year-old whose parents brought her to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 3 years old.

Perez and the other illegal immigrants who plan to come out Tuesday declaring themselves "undocumented and unafraid" say they want their action to inspire other young people around the country who are in the same situation to "come out of the shadows." They hope that will spur lawmakers at the national level to address their situation.

They are a part of The Dream is Coming project, which was created to advocate for the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for certain young people who were brought here at a young age. It has failed to pass Congress several times, most recently in December.

The young illegal immigrant activists have expanded their focus to protesting laws that bar illegal immigrants from higher education and also oppose crackdowns on illegal immigration proposed in many states, including Georgia, this year after Arizona enacted a tough new law last year.

Some in Congress who thought comprehensive immigration reform would be too tough to push through thought the DREAM Act might be easier because it would benefit young people who find themselves in the country illegally due to the actions of their parents. But critics of that legislation - who often agree that these young people are in an unfortunate situation - say it doesn't change the fact that they're here illegally.

Legislation proposed in Georgia this year would have banned illegal immigrants from attending state colleges and universities, a law that already exists in neighboring South Carolina. Several other states have seen similar legislation filed. The Georgia bill failed, but the state's university system late last year approved a rule that that says schools who have rejected any academically qualified applicants in the two most recent academic years - which applies to the five most competitive public schools in the state - cannot accept illegal immigrant applicants.

"We need to stop this because it keeps spreading," Perez said.

They have started using civil disobedience as a tool in their fight, including a high-profile sit-in at the Tucson offices of U.S. Sen. John McCain, when some of them were arrested. They have likened their struggle to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and say they are bolstered by support from some of the leaders of that movement.


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"We need to stop this because it keeps spreading," Perez said.

Sorry, WE want it spread to all 50 States! Or all 57 if you are Obozo...LOL!

They are a part of The Dream is Coming project, which was created to advocate for the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for certain young people who were brought here at a young age. It has failed to pass Congress several times, most recently in December.

Sorry honey, your "dream" will never come, because it is our nightmare! We, the people, have said HELL NO numerous times. Time for you to grow up and face your (and your) parents consequences.

You don't belong here and need to go back to your country.

BREAKING: Undocumented youth begin protests in Atlanta

By Todd A. Heywood | 04.05.11 | 2:52 pm

Eight undocumented youth from around the country — including one from Michigan — have moved to shut down a major thoroughfare in Atlanta to protest state laws that ban enrollment in state universities by undocumented youth.

“We feel that the time for us to stand up has come. I am not only doing this for my friends who are in the same situation, but also for my mom who did everything she could to give me a better life,â€

[quote]
“We intend to hold our politicians at the national level accountable to the promises they make,â€

I'd love to hear about what those PO'ed hillbillys do to them when their dumb arses block traffic!!!!

Haha their gonna hold our politicans responsible for what? The free education wasn't good enough? Trust me its a lot better than you would have received in ol messico! Its funny how you sneek in here get a better life and because our goverment wasn't doing its job we owe you! We don't owe you shyt but a bus ride back to the border. Mexico should be paying us to take care of you and your sneeky family! That would stop the mexican goverment from letting you over here if they had to pay back all the money their citizens took from us real americans! Oh and you want to compare yourselves to the blacks who you run out of town and steal their jobs well sit in the back of the bus on the way back to your country

Originally Posted by thedramaofmylife

I'd love to hear about what those PO'ed hillbillys do to them when their dumb arses block traffic!!!!

The sad part is that Nappy has told these idiots that they won't be deported

Hopefully the people they block might just deal with the problem in their own way

Every last one of them should be deported asap, unless our govt puts a stop to this BS its only going to get worse

8 illegal immigrants detained at Georgia protest

By ERRIN HAINES and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press
April 5, 2011, 6:22PM


ATLANTA — Eight young illegal immigrants were arrested Tuesday for sitting in the middle of a busy street in front of the Georgia Capitol, protesting their lack of access to higher education in a scene reminiscent of civil rights demonstrations decades ago.

The group, made up of mostly students, believe their plight is similar to movement the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led, and they met with former activists from the 1960s to hash out their civil disobedience plan. As the foreign-born youngsters sat in the road, at times holding hands, hundreds of supporters lined the street and cheered in support as the illegal immigrants were led away in handcuffs.

Before the sit-in the youngsters, their voices trembling, each stood before the crowd, took a microphone and announced: "I am undocumented, and I am unafraid."

In telling their stories, they took a risk like many of their parents made when they came to the U.S. to find a better life. Many said that, despite their grades, they have found their immigration status might prevent them from going to college, in part because they can't afford costly out-of-state tuition fees. Most also don't qualify for federal aid and at times, state help.

The Rev. Timothy McDonald was one of the activists who met with the students at Ebenezer Baptist Church in the room where King and other preachers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization that led the movement for equality and justice for blacks.

"We felt the connection," McDonald said. "We pointed out that there has never been a successful movement of any kind without young people, and that was especially true of the civil rights movement. It was the students who filled up the jails, not the preachers."

The group protested in an effort to bring national attention to the issue of equal access to education. They are also upset with what they see as anti-immigrant legislation in Georgia and elsewhere across the country.

South Carolina passed a law banning illegal immigrants from attending state colleges and universities, but a similar measure in Georgia failed. However, Georgia's university system late last year approved a rule that essentially bans illegal immigrants from the five most competitive public schools in the state, if those colleges had rejected academically eligible students because of a high number of applicants.

The protest was not unlike the lunch counter sit-ins led by students in Greensboro, N.C., more than 50 years ago, and was similar to efforts staged recently across the country, including a sit-in at the Tucson, Ariz., offices of U.S. Sen. John McCain.

The protests are part of The Dream is Coming project, which was created to advocate for the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for certain young people who were brought here at a young age. It has failed to pass Congress several times, most recently in December.

One of the protesters in Georgia, Dulce Guerrero, said she was done being afraid.

"I've been living in fear for years, not knowing what's going to happen to my family," said the 18-year-old. "I'm tired of it. Today, I'm here to tell the world that I'm undocumented. I'm here for a lot of my friends who are still in the shadows. They need to step up and step out. There is no more being neutral."

The protesters were charged with obstructing traffic. Atlanta police do not participate in a local-federal partnership that empowers local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law, so the likelihood of the students being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was low.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/ ... 08386.html