Ten students from colleges across Virginia, including the University, will begin a 70-mile-walk from Charlottesville to Richmond Friday to protest recent threats to repeal pro-immigration legislation. The walkers will rally on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol when they arrive in Richmond Monday.
A press conference was held Thursday morning in downtown Charlottesville to announce the #RiseUpVA walk and to speak about the significance of policies like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status.
The DACA and TPS programs give immigrants to the U.S. short-term legal protection.
President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would end DACA — which was established five years ago by the Obama administration — but has yet to do so. Ten states have threatened to sue the Trump administration in order to end the program, although it’s unclear whether Trump would defend it in court.
Paola Sánchez Valdez, a fourth-year Curry student and the president of DREAMers on Grounds, has been working with local organizations and other Virginia colleges to spread the word about their cause.
“We’re done being a bargaining chip,” Sánchez Valdez said in an interview. “Immigrant lives matter, and we want to take a stand to make sure we’re here for good.”
Approximately 20 reporters, students and community members attended the press conference.
The speakers included two U.Va. students who helped organize the walk — fourth-year College student Jacqueline Cortes Nava and third-year College student Rawda Fawaz.
“Rise Up Virginia is a walk from Charlottesville to Richmond, Virginia by and for immigrants demanding respect, permanent protection for the immigrant community,” Cortes Nava said.
Cortes Nava immigrated to Virginia from Mexico at age nine and is protected under DACA.
“Tomorrow I will start walking because I myself am protected under DACA, and I won’t let them take that away without a fight,” Cortes Nava said. “DACA allows me to pay in-state tuition at the University — it allows me to get a driver’s license, among other things…It’s a feeling of belonging in the place I’ve been living for over half my life.”
Fawaz, vice president of DREAMers on Grounds, said the walk is an important response to the Aug. 11 white nationalist march on Grounds and the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally held in downtown Charlottesville.
“I am here because a couple of weeks ago we saw white supremacists and neo-Nazis march on our Lawn,” Fawaz said. “We saw them march into our town and into our city and chant things like ‘You will not replace us.’ Trump’s agenda to take away DACA, to stop temporary protected services, to cut legal immigration in half is part of the white supremacist agenda. It’s not any different.”
Paola Salas Paredes, who works with the City of Charlottesville’s Office of Human Rights, said she thinks it is important to support the immigrant community in the greater fight against hatred and bigotry.
“In these times of divisiveness and polarization, we cannot afford to be selective as to whose human rights we champion,” Salas Paredes said. “We cannot protest against bigotry at large but turn our backs on our immigrant brothers and sisters. These young people are in jeopardy, their dreams are at stake.”
Edgar Lara from Sin Barreras, a nonprofit that serves the Charlottesville immigrant community, talked about the importance of policies such as DACA and TPS, and the threat they currently face.
“Many people talk about supporting immigrants who come here the right way, but they don’t realize how few and limited those ways are for certain types of people,” Lara said. “DACA is the only victory we had in 30 years for immigrants, and it’s about to be repealed. So we ask that you please join us in defending DACA, TPS and the few protections we have for certain immigrants.”
Salas Paredes said immigrants protected under DACA are able to make meaningful contributions to their local communities and economies.
“We want to iterate that DACA recipients excel academically and are involved in their communities,” Salas Paredes said. “They support our businesses, they pay taxes and enrich our colorful and diverse fabric here in Charlottesville.”
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