Thread: Immigration law protesters receive suspended sentences

Illegal immigrants (black shirts) and others gather in the middle of Union Street to protest Alabama's Immigration Law in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. (Montgomery Advertiser, Julie Bennett)


Written by Brian Lyman




A group of undocumented aliens received suspended sentences Monday afternoon for blocking South Union Street during a Nov. 15 protest of Alabama's immigration law.

The defendants, ranging in age from 19 to 57, were each given five-day suspended sentences and ordered to pay a $50 fine and at least $217 in court costs. Individual defendants could pay more in court costs, depending on how many police officers were subpoenaed to appear in court for their trial.
All the protestors posted $300 bonds after their arrests in November. Michael Winter, a Montgomery attorney representing the protestors, said that his clients would either get money back or pay no more than $3 to the city.
"I think the prosecution was very fair, and the judge was very fair," Winter said. "And they all got a chance to make a statement to the judge that they came to Alabama to fight this law that, in their view and mine, is unconstitutional, immoral and unfair."
The protesters said Monday they hoped their action would encourage other undocumented aliens to organize against laws like HB 56, which criminalizes many aspects of an undocumented alien's life.
“We need to come out of the shadows, to stand up for (our) rights as undocumented immigrants, because we do have rights,” said Catalina Rios, 19, from Detroit, Mich. “We want to tell them that you do have a support system. We are here to support you.”
Winter said HB 56 did not come up during the hearing.

“They intentionally chose not to arrest them for violating that, and they didn’t abide by the provision that doesn’t entitle them to bail,” he said.
Eight defendants appeared in court; Winter said; two others were unable to make it due to car trouble.
A total of 13 people were arrested at the November 15 protest, which drew about 70 people. A minor was released to the custody of her parents; two other men who were arrested for trespassing in the State House were sentenced last month to pay $87 each in court costs. The fine came out of $300 bond both men had posted in November; the court refunded the remainder.
None of the protesters live in Alabama, but a number said outside the court Monday afternoon that they felt HB 56 could encourage other states to pass their own immigration laws.
"Any threat to an undocumented immigrant here is a threat to undocumented immigrants anywhere," Rios said.

Immigration law protesters receive suspended sentences | The Montgomery Advertiser | montgomeryadvertiser.com

They were all out of state activists.

Illegal immigrants arrested at protest identified; 12 remain jailed (videos)

Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 12:02 PM Updated: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 3:40 PM

By Christine Kneidinger Hull, al.comal.com





MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The 13 protesters arrested yesterday after a demonstration outside legislative headquarters have been identified on a website by their supporters, who have now set up a fund to help bail them out of jail.

None is from Alabama. Twelve remained jailed at midday.


A Dream Activist website blog post

lists the group arrested after several hours of protesting the Alabama immigration law. All publicly declared their undocumented status yesterday in defiance of HB 56, which is considered to be the harshest anti-immigrant bill in the country.


The following names were listed on the Dream Activist website but have not been confirmed by police:


Martin Unzueta, 55, of Chicago; Belen Rebelledo, 39, of Detroit; Alma Diaz, 30, of Ohio; Jaime Guzman, 25, of Oregon; Catalina Rios, 19, of Detroit; Ernesto Zumaya, 25, of Los Angeles; Myasha Arellano, 18, of San Fernando Valley, Calif.; Krsna Avila, 23, of Oakland, Calif.; Fernanda Marroquin, 22, of Philadelphia; Cesar Marroquin, 21, of Philadelphia; and Cynthia Perez, 27, of Indianapolis, IN.


The 13 were arrested after a delegation from the larger group delivered a letter to the office of Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale. They waited for a response for three hours inside and outside of the State House, a crowd of approximately 200.


At 4:15 p.m., 11 of the 13 were arrested after an hourlong sit-in that blocked traffic in front of the State House on the corner of South Union and Washington Streets, sitting on a mat that read, "we will no longer stand in the shadows." All 11 were taken into police custody without incident and transported to the city jail on disorderly conduct charges. They were handcuffed by police using plastic yellow cuffs and loaded into a yellow Department of Public Safety school bus after they were given several warnings in both Spanish and English to vacate the street or be taken into police custody.

Two protesters who sat inside the State House waiting for Beason, sponsor of HB65, to respond to their letter, were incarcerated shortly after the building closed at 5:30 p.m.


Dream Activist spokesman Mohammad Abdollahi confirmed that since the arrests one person, said to be a minor, has since been released. Abdollahi also said that Montgomery attorney Mike Winters, has agreed defend the 12 still in custody without charge.

WSFA reports that Alabama Representative Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, has said that he plans to post bond for the 12 still in custody.

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange told the Montgomery Advertiser the decision to arrest the 11 people outside the State House came after police stood on the sidelines as a precautionary measure for hours.

"When you are blocking a street and we're fixing to get into rush hour (traffic), we felt like it would not be in our community's interest (for them) to be occupying (the street)," Strange said. "Plus, at some point in time, how can you condone civil disobedience?"


30-year-old Alma Diaz said in a video on the Dream Activist site she knew she stood a chance of being arrested. “What has hiding in the shadows gotten us? We must fight back; it is the only way to end the pain we see in our communities," she said.


Many of the 13 people arrested were interviewed prior to the protest by Dream Activist in a series of videos that were posted on YouTube titled "If you are reading watching this, I've been arrested in Alabama."


AL.com