Sign the petition- ask Georgia university presidents to refuse the ban on immigrant youth! http://bit.ly/agNbxF
Released – The Seven Undocumented Youth Arrested on Tuesday Speak Out: ICE Interviews
Georgia State University Continues With Ban on Undocumented Youth
Atlanta, GA- On Wednesday, just a day after being arrested for staging a sit-in on GSU’s campus, seven undocumented youth were released from lockup at the Atlanta Corrections Detention Center. Their ask today remains the same as Tuesday, to have President Becker take a stand and refuse to comply with the ban on higher education (www.bit.ly/nogaban).
“We took part in this action to convey to GSU President Becker and others that we will no longer stay in the shadows. We had a simple request of the President; do not comply with the ban on undocumented youth. Instead of hearing us out, when trying to deliver a letter [on Tuesday], the door was almost shut on us,” said Georgina Perez, one of the action participants. “In a country were hard work is rewarded we should encourage all students to pursue their education regardless of their immigration status…not arrest them at the risk of deportation.”
The seven, David Ramirez, Andrea Rosales, Viridiana Martinez, Jose Rico Benavides, Dayanna Rebolledo and Maria Marroquin, say that upon entry into the jail they were immediately interviewed by two ICE agents, “As soon as we got here they came in, asked us personal questions like where we were born and our birthdays. We were honest with them, we told them we were undocumented.” Despite being open about their legal status ICE chose not to get involved. All seven were released without an ICE hold, a process usually undertaken when Undocumented individuals are stopped on traffic violations. Viridiana went on to say “we definitely felt privileged, not everyone who is undocumented is treated the way we were. We are not sure why we were not detained.”
The youth, as part of www.TheDreamIsComing.com project, plan to continue to organize and empower other undocumented youth to take action. A press conference with all the students who were arrested will be held today at 11am.
Who: 7 Undocumented Youth Arrested after sit-in Tuesday
What: Press Conference: Call to Action
When: Tuesday, April 7th at 11:00am
Where: Hurt Park, corner of Gilmer Street SE & Courtland Street SE
