We’ve written about the events in Aurora and Denver this week. They’re getting coverage elsewhere, as event held in Longmont.
FOX-31, Denver [video of Senator Bennet voicing his support at the link]:
About 1,000 people turned out to ask lawmakers to fix America’s immigration system, including an anonymous 17-year-old high school student.
“Viridiana” says she came to Colorado when she was 6. She said when she first saw the bright lights on I-25, she was so excited. There are no bright lights in Mexico, she says. And those lights came to symbolize her own bright future. But not any longer.
“I feel so hopeless,” she says softly. She has taken college-credit courses since she was 15. But she says that hard work won’t translate into a higher education. She cannot afford to pay out-of-state college tuition, which she says is up to five times more than in-state tuition. She realizes her education is over–despite her dreams of becoming an immigration lawyer.
“My fear is not just getting caught, getting sent back (to Mexico). It’s living in this cage forever. you know, living this fake life,” she says.
Freshman state Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver, drew a standing ovation when he told a story, in fluent Spanish, about immigrant students at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts (MESA) in Thornton who were forced to drop their studies because of their immigration status. One girl was forced to drop out after her father was deported. An honors student was denied in-state tuition on the campus of Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Johnston, 35, served four years as principal of MESA which he said had 70 percent Latino students, about half of whom he estimates were undocumented.
“Families are being pulled apart because the system is broken,” he said. “We don’t support the workers we have.”
He said he and state Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, who also appeared on stage, will sponsor a legislative resolution calling for comprehensive immigration reform in Washington.
And in Aurora, the Aurora Sentinel covered the rally:
Hundreds gathered at a prayer rally Jan. 12 at the St. Therese Catholic Church in Aurora to call for comprehensive immigration reform at a national level.
…The rally drew hundreds to the church in Aurora, and attendants spilled into the aisles and the halls. The event included addresses from local religious leaders Pastor Thomas Mayes, the Most Rev. Bishop Conley, the Rev. Jim Ryan, Pastor Joe Mares and the Rev. Bert Chilson.
…Speakers pointed to the urgency of the issue, and said they hoped President Barack Obama would address the issue in the State of the Union address planned for the end of January.
At a meeting in Longmont this week, organizers planned for more action. Here’s a story from the Longmont Times-Call:
Joana grew up wanting to be a nurse.
As a child, she attended public schools in Longmont and Platte-ville. But she can’t afford to go to college because her parents illegally brought her to the United States when she was 2 years old.
“We’re all equal. We’re all God’s children. I really want America to be the land where dreams can come true,” Joana said Thursday night.
Categories: Colorado
