Illegal-alien advocates staged protests in several dozen cities on April 5 to demand a freeze on deportations and the passage of so-called comprehensive immigration reform this year. Immigration-enforcement supporters turned out as well in a number of places.
The common theme among the pro-illegal alien events was “Two million, too many,” which reflects the advocates’ claim that President Obama has deported two million illegal aliens to date. Research shows the claim is incorrect. Deportations have in fact dropped under Obama as compared to previous presidents. Still, Obama in March told Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to review deportation practices and develop options for further easing enforcement.
About 100 protestors traveled by bus from Phoenix to Eloy, Arizona, the location of an ICE detention facility. Natally Cruz, an illegal-alien organizer from the group Puente Arizona, said "We want President Obama and his administration to really hear our community members across the country, to understand we do not want one more person separated." Many of the protestors carried prepared signs that said "Not 1 More Deportation."
In Washington, D.C. about 200 deportation protestors converged on Lafayette Park just across from the White House. “The limits that are keeping the President from acting today are not legal limits, they’re political limits,” said Marisa Franco from the National Day Labor Organizing Network. Her group recently filed a rule-making petition with the Department of Homeland Security that argued the agency has authority to grant “deferred action” to everyone slated for removal. Immigration enforcement supporters also came to Lafayette Park led by Brad Botwin of Help Save Maryland.
At the San Francisco protest, police arrested twenty-three people who had blocked traffic on a major downtown street. One illegal alien from the group Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education said he came to the protest “willing to be arrested.” He added, “I wanted to show solidarity with others that are also undocumented.”
Over 50 deportation protestors stood in front of a New York City DHS office. Likewise in Hartford, Connecticut dozens of protestors were bused in from around the state to gather in front of a federal building.
Two days earlier at an event in San Bernardino, protestors came out on both sides of the immigration debate. Robin Hvidston, who heads up We The People Rising, said her group came out to show support for Homeland Security agents. “We wanted our immigration officers to see the public stands with them,” she said. Some in her group held “Stop Illegal Immigration” signs while others held Remembrance Project “Stolen Lives” quilts, which display the pictures and stories of citizens who were killed by illegal aliens.
One illegal alien in the crowd claimed she was held for about 20 days after an arrest. The San Bernardino Community Service Center called the arrest a violation of the TRUST Act, a state law that prohibits police from holding illegal aliens unless they have committed serious or violent crimes. According to an Associated Press report, the TRUST has already had a big impact in slowing deportations in California.
