Four Miami Dade College students set out on a four-month trek to Washington to bring attention to the struggle of undocumented immigrants. Gabby Pacheco, Juan Rodriguez, Carlos Roa and Felipe Matos are demanding that child immigrants be granted legal status and the end to deportation of immigrants who have spouses and children who are U.S. citizens.
One of the protesters was granted legal status in 2008 after living in the United States for 13 years. Three of the students are risking arrest and deportation in order to send a clear message to the White House: “We are risking our future because our present is unbearable.”
The four plan to walk 16 miles per day. They will be sleeping in churches and immigration centers until they make it to Washington in May. With the escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and sweeps, daily life for undocumented immigrants becomes increasingly repressive. Only the organization and solidarity of the working class—whether documented or undocumented—can end that repression.
