Hundreds March to Demand Paul Ryan Protect Immigrant Youth & Families

Marchers reject moves to combine relief with bigoted border wall

Photos here

RACINE, WISCONSIN — On Tuesday night, hundreds of immigrant families and supporters marched through Racine calling on US House Speaker Paul Ryan to advance legislation to protect immigrant youth and families. The march came hours after US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that Donald Trump will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a program created by President Obama that provides work authorization and protection from deportation to more than 800,000 immigrant youth nationwide, including almost 8,000 in Wisconsin. Marchers rallied at Monument Square before marching passed Paul Ryan’s office to the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. DACA recipients, including three DACA recipients who had been on hunger strike calling on Ryan to support DACA, led the march.

“We have been on a hunger strike for five days and on Tuesday hundreds of us marched to demand Paul Ryan follow through on his pledge and pass legislation to protect immigrant youth and families,” said Valeria Ruiz, a Paul Ryan constituent and organizer with Voces de la Frontera and Voces’ student arm Youth Empowered in the Struggle. “We just want to work hard to support our families and communities, and Trump’s elimination of DACA will shatter our dreams. Speaker Ryan must advance clean, humane legislation to protect DACA recipients, our families, and all immigrants, and that doesn’t provide for a border wall or mass deportation and the separation of our families.”

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017

###