If you were to have attended last Saturday’s march that flooded the streets of Chicago, you would have heard the shouts of more than 40 DePaul students yelling, “si se puede.” Their voices joined over 20,000 others in a march that protesting against the new Arizona law.
“This march is going to let everyone know that we mean business and we aren’t going to take this anymore,” said freshman Sergio Garcia, a biology major. “This is just symbolism for what is going to happen, for what we are going to do as a community to help fix these problems.”
Arizona’s bill, SB1070, would require local and state law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect to be undocumented, so long as they have already stopped them from a separate crime. The bill would make it a crime for immigrants to not carry registration documents with them at all times.
“This march shows there are a lot of people within this country that definitely support comprehensive immigration reform,” said junior Emily Thenhouse, a political science major. “It’s not just scholars, experts and politicians, including President Obama, coming out against the Arizona bill, but its the gente, the people in general that are also saying, ‘no- this is repression and abuse going on against immigrants. It is not okay.”
The new law has been criticized by many who say it will bring forth racial profiling. The DePaul students who attended the march said it will give the police the authority to stop anyone with colored skin and profile them as an illegal immigrant.
“The law in Arizona is giving people who aren’t European descent the message that yes, you are a citizen, but you don’t really belong here because you look a certain way,” said sophomore Gina Leal, an anthropology and latino studies major. “It hurts. It’s the government’s way of telling us that we shouldn’t be here.”
According to SB1070, police only need “reasonable suspicion” to stop a person on the street and ask for their papers.
“You can say it is not specifically racial profiling, but if you think about those two words they are really diversely defined but overall they are discretionary terms,” said Thenhouse who volunteers at an immigration clinic, “You an use them to your discretion anyway you like.”
“Immigration is put aside by the government. We are sending a message that we aren’t going to be forgotten and we are going to go out on the streets and make sure the government knows that this is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately,” said Leal.
Several students said DePaul needs to take more action.
“DePaul needs more awareness on immigration,” said senior Abbey Shumacher, international studies and Spanish major who spent 10 days working with border links on the Mexico/US border last winter. “DePaul has a history of being a University for immigrants, there is a good base there but students need to learn more about this issue.
The march began in Union Park and ended at the Daley center.
Garcia said he has family in Arizona who are very upset with the new Arizona law.
“They are considering leaving Arizona,” said Garcia, “But they are hopeful that the government will start the process to have some sort of reform.”
“It’s going to be a fight,” said Garcia. “But we aren’t going to sit down and take it.”
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