Image of the Day

These youth saw the reprieve as a victory a step forward. In the
aftermath of the election, Obama says he will do something on
immigration reform. In this area, as in others, Obama can point to
Republican hostility as an excuse to water down any action.
Now United We Dream has upped the ante, saying they will mobilise
in the broader community to not only make the two-year reprieve
permanent for young people, but win full rights for all the undocumented,
their parents included.
A New York Times reporter at the conference said in a December 2
article: “Their decision to push for legal status for their families was
intensely emotional.
“When they were asked at a plenary session how many had been
separated by deportation from a parent or family member, hundreds of
hands went up ...”
The NYT article quoted Regem Corpuz, a 19-year-old student at the
University of California, who was born in the Philippines, as saying:
“When Obama is deporting all these people, separating all of our families,
I’m sick and tired of that.”
The point was underscored on the last day of the conference. Six
undocumented immigrant parents of those present joined a “coming out”
ceremony where they spoke in public for the first time, as many of their
children have done this past year.
The NYT said: “One father, Juan Jose Zorrilla, 45, who is from
Mexico, recounted how he had entered the United States several times by
swimming across the Rio Grande.
“‘For parents, there is no sacrifice so large that we won’t make it for
our children,’ Mr Zorrilla said. A mass of youths jumped up from their
chairs to embrace Mr. Zorrilla and the other parents.”
By demonstrating openly as undocumented youth this past year, and
now holding an open conference, these young people are engaging in a
mass civil disobedience campaign. They are challenging the authorities to
arrest and deport them.