By KURTIS RATTAY
Eleven Dreamers and 15 supporters embarked on a 250-mile “walk to stay home” from New York City to Washington D.C. on Thursday in response to the Trump Administration’s threat to end Obama-era protections for undocumented children.
The group met at Battery Park overlooking the cloud-covered Statue of Liberty to say why they are walking. The group demands Congress pass legislation to protect undocumented children and their families. They also denounced the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—commonly known as DACA—which protected so-called Dreamers from deportation.
Terminating DACA “put 800,000 lives in limbo,” said Hector Martinez, one of the Dreamers who will be walking to the Capitol. “The only crime we are guilty of is the crime of dreaming. And if for that crime my life is at stake I will fight, because I am not a criminal.”
The 15-day walk will pass through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland before reaching Washington D.C.. Along the way, the walkers will meet with community organizations, marches and rallies.
Supporters met the group with signs reading “True patriots condemn racism” and “DACA si! Trump no!.” For a few minutes one man heckled in the distance, pointing while forcing laughter.
“The Trump Administration has used the immigrant community as a tool to push its hateful agenda,” Martinez said while soon-to-be marchers held a banner and held their fists in the air. “But we as a community have stood with each other saying no, we do not believe what you are saying and we have taken to the streets.”
The group’s walk comes the day after a bipartisan group of senators agreed on a rewrite of immigration laws that would strengthen the nation’s borders while offering undocumented children a chance of citizenship.
The multi-state expedition was organized by the Seed Project to highlight the need for a “clean dream act” which would protect the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The Seed Project fights for protection for all undocumented immigrants in the country.
“Our families are being torn apart,” Martinez said. “A clean dream is what will grant protection to undocumented youth and DACA recipients. But we will not take that at the expense of our parents.”
But the White House said President Trump would “veto any bill that doesn’t advance his common-sense immigration reforms.”
“What concerns me most is whether or not this will touch the hearts of those who haven’t decided that undocumented youth need a clean dream act, because that is what we need—permanent protection,” said Miriam Nunez in a press release. Nunez came to the United States with her parents when she was six months old.
The group—many sporting brand-new running shoes—stepped off in the early afternoon Thursday on the trek. The first stop was Newark.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.