SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – Solidarity with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients was the message behind a vigil held Monday night at Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego.
Activists want congress to say “no” to a budget bill lacking provisions that protect undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Monday’s vigil comes days after seven DACA recipients and a supporter were arrested on Friday during a sit-in at the Capital in Washington D.C. – vowing to continue a hunger strike behind bars until new legislation is signed by Congress to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Local immigration attorney Dulce Garcia is among those immigrants brought to the U.S., at the age of four in 1987.
“They are risking their bodies, putting their lives at stake. My family is scared for me. I am very scared for what is going to come,” she said.
According to Garcia, of the 800,000 DACA recipients nationwide, 40,000 of them are in San Diego County.
It is a number that has started to decline since President Trump officially rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) in September.
Monica Morelli is a mother of two and while not directly affected, felt it was critical to show her support Monday night.
“To me we are all people. Seeing families torn apart is just heartbreaking to me,” she said.
Ali Torabi said if DACA is not reinstated, he many realize his dreams of becoming a doctor. “I hope Congress is paying attention.”
Along with Monday night’s action at Horton Plaza, another group of activists will be launching a special 24-hour hotline in San Diego County Tuesday.
The San Diego Rapid Response Network will offer emergency assistance and legal resources to undocumented immigrants locally – based on models already in operation in Los Angeles and San Francisco.