Students take to the streets in protest
WILSHIRE BLVD. — Thousands of students from across the Southland — including hundreds from local high schools — skipped classes Monday and marched through the streets to protest an immigration bill being debated in Congress that, if passed, would penalize illegal immigrants and those who support them.
About 200 students form Palisades Charter and Santa Monica high schools waved Mexican flags and carried handmade signs with slogans denouncing immigration reform as they walked from their schools east on Wilshire Boulevard towards the Federal Building in Westwood.
Protesters chanted “Si Se Puede,” or “Yes, We Can,” in honor of the late civil rights leader Caesar Chavez, whose birthday will be celebrated this weekend with a march in downtown Los Angeles. Chavez led the fight to organize farm workers, many of whom were illegal immigrants.
“We are here to support our people,” said Araceli Huratato, 15, a student at Palisades.
“We just want to represent, show we have a voice and that we are opposed to this immigration law,” said Mariela Dominguez, 18, a senior at Palisades. “It’s ridiculous to think that if you help your grandma you could be considered a criminal because you are helping an illegal. A lot of my friends at school are illegal, but they came here when they were 2 (years old). They didn’t have a choice. Now they may have to leave their home and go back to a place they don’t even know. That’s just not right.”
Monday’s march was a continuation of a mass protest staged Friday when hundreds of students left the campuses of Huntington Park, South Gate, Montebello, Jordan, Garfield, Roosevelt, Washington Preparatory and Bell high schools. Hundreds of thousands turned out in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to protest the proposed bill.
The bill was introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. and would crack down on employers hiring illegal workers and people smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.
The bill, HR 4437, would require employers to verify Social Security numbers with the Department of Homeland Security, increase penalties for immigrant smuggling and stiffen penalties for undocumented immigrants who re-enter the United States after having been removed.
Under the bill, local law enforcement agencies would be reimbursed for detaining illegal immigrants. Refugees with aggravated felony convictions also would be barred from receiving green cards.
The House of Representatives approved the bill in December. The Senate will begin debating the legislation today.
Students from Palisades said they organized Monday’s walkout over the weekend using the Internet and their cell phones. School administrators said they had no idea the march was going to take place until they arrived on campus Monday morning and saw fliers posted indicating there was going to be a walkout.
Palisades Assistant Principal Margaret Evans said administrators at the school contacted the Santa Monica Police Department and Samohi to coordinate security efforts.
The SMPD blocked traffic along the route to the Federal Building and students were accompanied by Palisades and Samohi staff, school officials said.
“We have clear procedures we follow when we have a student walkout, and that includes notifying the police and the parents to let them know their children have left school,” said Samohi Principal Ilene Straus. “We don’t physically restrain the students. We take away their I.D. cards and let the parents know. If they excuse them, (the students) do not get (reprimanded) for being absent. But if not, there are consequences for cutting school.”
Straus said the district recognizes local students are active politically and she encourages it, as long as it is done in an orderly and safe manner.
“So far, we have received no complaints,” Straus said. Still, some students marching said they didn’t know much about the immigration bill and were using the issue as an excuse to get out of class, including Andres Manjarrez, 14.
“But now that I’m here, you know, I’m learning just how bad this law would be,” he said. “We need another way.”
Students said they would like to see amnesty granted for those who have been working in the U.S. and have stayed out of trouble with the law.
“They didn’t come up here to kill people,” said Briana Orellana, 16. “We came here to work.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.