Organizations under Progressive Alliance, such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA), the Democratic Party Club and members of NextGen California, organized a march in Stan State’s quad from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to remind members of Congress to advocate for a clean DREAM Act.
Students and members of said organizations decided to do the march today since President Donald Trump had given Congress the deadline of Mar. 5 to come up with a solution to pass a comprehensive immigration reform. The reform could potentially help out DREAMers and their families.
Gloria Vallin (senior, Biology/Communication Studies), who serves as a publicist for MEChA, said that the purpose of their demonstration was to emphasize to their elected leaders that they should be looking into passing a clean DREAM Act.
“Everyone knows, today is March fifth, which 45 [Trump] gave a deadline for the clean DREAM Act. We’re still waiting for a response, but we decided to do an action to urge Congress, Senators and everyone in the higher power to hopefully pass the permanent solution today,” she said.
She also added that “our plan is to continue educating the community. It’s one thing to actually get a bill to pass, it’s [another] thing for others to actually do something.”
Members of MEChA and the Democratic Party Club arrived before their starting time, 10 a.m. They began by sticking more than 120 picket signs to the grass area near the Vasche Library. White balloons were tied up to each sign.
Every sign had its own saying printed on it. Some had written on them, “UNDOCUMENTED! UNAFRAID!,” and others stated, “HEY CONGRESS! DON’T WAIT! NOW’S THE TIME TO LEGISLATE!”
“We were supposed to have black balloons to be in solidarity with everyone, but we decided to go with white. It felt more uplifting,” Vallin said. “They’re tied to the 122 messages that actually represent 122 DACA recipients who lose their status each day.”
Afterwards, members of MEChA, as well as others, went to the second floor of Bizzini Hall to tie two of their banners up. One banner read, “MIGRATION IS LIFE,” and the other read, “EDUCATION NOT DEPORTATION.”
Two other banners were hung near one of the entrances to Main Dining. Both banners urged for a “clean DREAM Act” to be passed.
All banners were accompanied with drawings of butterflies, which has been a symbol of migration among the Latinx/Chicanx community.
Students, faculty and staff who were walking by the quad were encouraged to participate and show their support by writing optimistic messages on two blank banners. These banners are planned to be donated to the Diversity Center, according to Vallin.
Daniel Solorio (senior, Psychology), a member from Students for Quality Education (SQE), said that this demonstration serves to bring light to the people like DREAMers who only aspire to accomplish their educational goals.
“This means that you’re acknowledging all these people, DACA recipients, who are people with aspirations and dreams,” he said. “Their legal status shouldn’t deprive them from reaching their full potential.”
Solorio also stated that he hopes that this demonstration normalizes the discussion of treating everyone equally regardless of their immigration status.
“I’d like for this to raise awareness, open up the discussion. We have this group of people that have no legal status, they have no voice in our country,” Solorio said. “I see this as an opportunity to have that conversation and really talk about what we can do to help those people because, at the end of the day, they’re tax-paying citizens. They’re people just like us with dreams and hopes. They deserve to be treated like people.”
After everything was set up, march organizers and other participants gathered around each other and started to march around the quad area, chanting in support of a comprehensive immigration reform to happen.
The march itself lasted approximately 10 minutes.
Joining the march was Joshua Harder who is running for California’s 10 Congressional District. He is also a professor of business at Modesto Junior College (MJC).
“This makes me understand how personal these issues are. The Central Valley is a region that’s based on immigration,” Harder said. “My ancestors came to this valley 170 years ago as immigrants, and I teach at MJC and hear the stories of DREAMers every single day, and it means that we have to fight for these issues.”
Harder also said that he would tell Congressman Jeff Denham (CA-10) to “actually do something” that would help millions of immigrants, calling him out on his votes against a clean DREAM Act.
“I think I’m gonna tell Congress, and more specifically Jeff Denham, to actually do something about this issue and to pass the clean DREAM Act that will create a pathway to citizenship for the millions of DREAMers and DACA recipients across the U.S.,” he said. “There have been two votes to bring the clean DREAM Act to a vote in the U.S. House over the past several months. Jeff Denham has voted no both times… He’s been seating and fighting for his party instead of our interests.”
Stephanie Hubbard, Interim Coordinator for the Diversity Center, as well as the Interim Director for Student Leadership and Development, were also present. She made sure that the event “would adhere to all of campus policies, but also, so it can go on without any issues.”
“I just want people to know that they are supported and that we have, in the Diversity Center, a DREAMer Services area. So, if anybody has any questions, concerns, whether they be a DREAMer or not,…they are welcome in the Diversity Center,” Hubbard said.
For more information and resources for DREAMers, visit DREAMers Services in the Diversity Center on Mondays and Fridays from 2-3 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-3:30 p.m.
Also, you can visit the DREAMers Committee, which is working together with DREAMers Services to provide ally training that will teach campus members how to support DREAMers.