Between 150 and 200 people marched through western downtown Phoenix Friday to protest deportations that have persisted since President Obama’s executive action on immigration last year.
Last fall, President Obama announced he would take executive action on immigration after Congress had not passed immigration reform. Under Obama’s plan, certain undocumented immigrants, such as those who have children who are U.S. citizens, would be able to receive work permits.
However, that has not stopped deportations entirely. Collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deportations. If an undocumented worker is apprehended for committing a crime, he or she could face deportation instead of the courts. In 2014 alone, 56 percent of all ICE deportees had committed a crime.
“Deportations haven’t stopped,” said Francisca Porchas, organizing director of Puente Human Rights Movement, the group that organized the march. “Obama could do so much more to stop deportation — he could stop ICE and police collaboration as soon possible.”
The march started at the Arizona State Capitol after a rally where activist leaders and families personally affected by deportations spoke to the crowd of nearly 200 people. Roll call for the various activist organizations participating in the march was held with Puente, Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy (CASE), Mi Familia Vota, Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), the Black and Brown Coalition, and the Center for Neighborhood Leadership all shouting their presence.
Chanting slogans and holding signs aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the protesters marched down Jefferson Street and arrived at the Fourth Avenue Jail.
The protesters then marched to Phoenix Police Department headquarters, where Porchas called out operating order 4.48, which was implemented as part of the controversial immigration bill S.B. 1070.
Operating order 4.48 provides instructions to Phoenix Police on what constitutes probable cause when asking someone to provide proof of citizenship.
“I was born and grew up in California, but I didn’t know I was Mexican until I moved to Arizona,” said Tempe School Board Member Patrick Morales, who, at 23, is the youngest elected official in Arizona. “A lot of kids in my school district are used to seeing their parents get stopped by the police department, and a lot of them do have split families due to deportation.”
This march was specifically against the separation of families that results from deportation. Present at the march were several families that had been separated due to deportation.
“My husband had a minor DUI in 2011, and he went to court in Phoenix for it, which took a year,” said Adriana Bonilla, who had addressed the crowd earlier. “Then, on September 3, 2015, he was deported, because under Obama’s executive action, domestic violence and DUI offenders were those whose deportation was considered a priority.”
Contact the reporter at Daniel.Perle@asu.edu.
