Kids march to protest Arpaio policies
by Jim Cross and Sandra Haros/KTAR (August 7th, 2009 @ 12:47pm) Comments:154

PHOENIX -- About 50 children marched through downtown Phoenix Friday to protest Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration policies.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Arpaio has to go," the children -- wearing monarch butterfly wings to symbolize migration -- chanted as they walked from the Fourth Avenue Jail past the federal courthouse to Arpaio's headquarters.

Tanya Mercado was among those attending the march.

"I've already been to a Joe Arpaio march, a couple of months ago in April," she said. "I'm just here to support the kids whose parents don't have papers."

Alyssa Miranda said she was there "to help the kids who don't have any parents and they're suffering."

Gabby Drusczz said there has to be a better way to deal with illegal immigration.

"People don't know there are victims and those are the kids," said Drusczz. "I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong. I don't know, but there has to be some answers."

The walk was organized by Puente, a human rights organization.

The message to Arpaio is to stop ripping families apart, said Puente leader Salvador Reza, adding that the message also was for President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

"A lot of the kids who are coming are kids who have lost their parents through the raids or through the immigration policies of the sheriff," said Reza. "They're going to be asking the sheriff not to deport their parents."

Sylvia Herrera, a member of Puente, said, "The kids are the ones who are requesting that these abuses stop."

Arpaio knew of the march before it happened and was critical of the organizers.

"They're going as low as you can go by using kids, especially in the hot weather, and parading in front of my office," the sheriff said. "We have thousands of people in our jail who are separated from their kids. Nobody seems to care about those parents, but this issue is all because of the illegal immigration situation."

Reza retorted that if Arpaio cared about children, he would not deport their parents.

"When the sheriff deports parents and kids, sometimes those kids have to walk for three days in the middle of the desert," Reza said, "and that's really messing with kids."

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