Donald Trump’s cowardly decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) sparked nationwide protests from undocumented immigrant youth and their allies in Washington, D.C., Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, South Dakota (!), Nevada, New York and numerous other states. In Colorado, students from two high schools staged a massive walkout. Just feet from Trump Tower in Manhattan, about a dozen protesters, including immigrant youth, locked arms and blocked Fifth Avenue traffic. Among the activists arrested was Erika Andiola, a DACA recipient and immigrant rights leader.
“Trump is trying to scare us into hiding, to get us to back down,” Andiola told the Washington Post. “We’re not going to back down.”
Thousands of New Yorkers also marched across the Brooklyn Bridge:
In front of the White House, organizers from United We Dream, CASA de Maryland, and allies vowed that immigrant youth are here to stay. "UWD is ready (to) fight back," said Greisa Martinez, a leader with the organization. "We know this is a symbol of what we saw in Charlottesville, another sign of white supremacists taking over. We will not be thrown back into the shadows." Among those protesting in Washington, D.C. was Jeanette Vizguerra, who spent nearly 90 days in sanctuary before winning a two-year reprieve from deportation.
In Denver, school administrators escorted the thousands of students who staged the massive walkout in support of undocumented youth. "These are people I grew up with,” Byers High School student Anthony told Fox 13 Denver, “and I don't want to see them leave.”
In Chicago, DACA recipient Angelica Magana told ABC 7 Chicago “that I refuse to go back in the shadows.” Mayor Rahm Emanuel tweeted that undocumented youth “are welcome in the City of Chicago. This is your home. Come to school and pursue your dreams.”
In Nebraska, 3,000 immigrant youth stand to have their lives upended due to Donald Trump rescinding DACA. In Lincoln, Crete Mayor Roger Foster said that he attended the rally in support of DACA because “our Hispanic and Latino community in Crete is a big part of our community, it’s a big part of our school system, it’s a big part of our economy.”
“To stand with those people is just important for our community as a whole, and I think I’d be derelict in my duties if I didn’t stand up for everyone. That’s why I thought it was important.”
In Los Angeles, one DACA recipient said that “Trump didn’t even have the courage to announce to us his decision.” Luis, another DACA recipient and new graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, said that “I lost my fear since Trump became president. In fact, I’m ready, my employer is ready, and my family is ready to fight back along with me.”
In Nashville, protesters demanded a clean vote on the bipartisan 2017 DREAM Act, which finally would put undocumented youth on a path to citizenship:
In Boston, Filipe Zamborlini, a former DACA recipient and now green card holder, told the crowd of hundreds that “deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals gave me one word: opportunity. That’s all we are looking for. We can thrive given the opportunity.” Diana Ortiz Giron, a DACA recipient and Harvard graduate, said that “for me, my mom came when I was six years old, her dream was that I would have a better childhood than the one that she had in Mexico. I majored in history, I know more American history than the average American. I love this country, it is my home.”
Thousands of others came out in support of DACA, the DREAM Act, and immigrant youth in Detroit, Merced, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Raleigh, and countless other cities, and rallies are ongoing as immigrant youth and their allies pressure members of Congress to bring the bipartisan DREAM Act bills—sitting in both the House and Senate—to a vote.
You can help add your voice in support here, and sign the petition in support letting immigrant youth stay in the only country they call home here.