Posted on 03/29/2006 4:26:38 AM PST by chambley1
Freedom High School students cheered and ran to greet the students arriving from Woodbridge Senior High School on Tuesday at an immigration demonstration at Freedom High School.
Roughly 100 students walked from the school in Lake Ridge to join about 300 students at the school on Neabsco Mills Road who were protesting HR 4437. The bill passed the House of Representatives in December and would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant in the United States. It would also make it a crime to help illegal immigrants.
Amanda McQueen said she and the other Woodbridge students walked the 7.6 miles in about two hours to get to Freedom High School and join the protest that began Monday and resumed Tuesday morning.
She said she walked because she didn't think it was right to make immigrants leave the country.
"It's not like they're coming over here and not doing anything. They're making our economy better. They're working their butts off to help us," McQueen said.
About 40 students demonstrated at C.D. Hylton High School, while students from Gar-Field Senior High School joined the students at Freedom.
Many of the students said they were legal citizens, but they had family members who were illegal immigrants.
"I see a lot of immigrants every day and I hear their stories," said 16-year-old Vanessa Romero, a student at Hylton. "Something touches me. There's kids that die trying to come over here. There's people like me looking for a better life."
Vanessa Galvan, a 10th grader at Hylton High School, said she was protesting for her family.
"I am a citizen, but my family members are not. I'm just doing it for my people," the 16-year-old Galvan said.
"A lot of people here have green cards. A lot of people were born here," she said of the protesters.
Chris Perez said many of his family members in Woodbridge, Springfield, Fairfax and Arlington were illegal immigrants.
"We come here for a better life. We come here to get something we can't get in our country," the 17-year-old Gar-Field Senior High School student said.
The students said they had a voice, they were using it and they hoped people would listen.
"They have to listen to us," said Victor Rubio, a 16-year-old Hylton student. "If Latinos don't work for a day, they're going to lose millions of dollars."
Saul Gonzalez said his message was that immigrants contributed to America.
"This nation wouldn't be what it is today without the help of immigrants," the 17-year-old Freedom student said.
The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Monday that has little in common with the House version that was the subject of the protest.
The Senate proposal would clear the way for about 11 million undocumented workers to seek U.S. citizenship without first leaving the country, would not include criminal penalties for people who are in the United States illegally, would strengthen border patrols and would allow guest workers into the U.S.
The vote cleared the way for the full Senate to debate immigration.
If the bill written by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., passes the full Senate, the House and Senate must try to reach a compromise between the two bills.
Karla Brizuela organized the protest along with fellow Freedom High School students Anthony Lemus, 16, and Louis Vasquez, 15.
Brizuela said she was happy to see all of the students who showed up at Freedom with flags from Uruguay, Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia, and others who carried placards that read "We love the U.S.A. That's why we want to stay" and "Immigrants Are Not Criminals."
"We're proud of every single one that's here because they're showing that they're proud of each other and that we're a family protecting each other and respecting each other," the 18-year-old Brizuela said as the crowd chanted "Latino, Latino, Latino."
The student protests in Prince William County on Monday and Tuesday followed protests in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Phoenix last weekend.
The protests spread to other cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday.
Prince William school officials said Monday the students faced punishment for cutting class but not for demonstrating.
"There will be no special discipline steps taken against students for participating in this protest," said Phil Kavits, Prince William County Public Schools director of communications.
Prince William County Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Wayne Mallard sent a letter to Freedom High School students and parents Tuesday urging the students to come back to school.
In the letter, Mallard said Prince William County Public Schools were not trying to "... stifle discussion of this important issue."
But the staff at Freedom High School was "... stretched thin by the demands of ensuring the safety of students participating in such demonstrations."
"Students have succeeded in generating community and media awareness of an important issue," Mallard wrote in the letter. "Now, it's time to demonstrate their concern and respect for the ongoing educational efforts taking place in Prince William County Public Schools to benefit them and every member of the community."
The Tuesday protest ended at Freedom High School about 11 a.m., when the students left the school and marched to Todos Supermarket on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge, where they stayed until about 2 p.m.
Lemus and Brizuela said the students would not protest today
What part of "illegal" do they not understand? Oh, never mind, they were asleep during English class. Asleep or another day they skipped school.
Me too, I think today me and my kids will go to the wealthy neighborhoods sneak into one of those beautiful houses and live the life of someone better off than me. I'm poor, I deserve the chance to be rich. Then once I sneak a few more family and friends in we'll push the owners right out.
This morning FINALLY the DISD (Texas) is stepping up to the plate and told the punks that anyone who dares to walk out of school from today on will be suspended indefinitely, and possibly ARRESTED! They are placing all schools on lockdown.
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
FINALLY!
Here in Texas, the DISD, gives parents TICKETS, the parents have to appear in court and pay a several hundred dollar fine if their kids skip school. So I wondered why the undocumented punks were allowed to walk at will in a act of defiance, ignore our laws as usual, and DISD allow it.
The little darlings are told to wait till April 9 because there is supposed to be a massive demonstration than, hopefully there will be riot guards there that day, the FBI, ICE and there will be arrests! I hope there will be massive opposition to their acts of defiance that day!
Great analogy!!
Who's organizing these protests?
This would be a good time to give these students a lesson in civics. BTW, what ever happened to the school's responsibility to maintain custudy of its charges. Do kids routinely walk on and off of its campus at will?
It would be a great day for a surprise quiz in all classes. Worth 10% of the semester's grade.
"...she was happy to see all of the students who showed up at Freedom with flags from Uruguay, Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia..."
But no American flags.
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