Immigration Reform Rally- Malindi Van Sant

On the evening of November 5^th, I attended an immigration reform rally and vigil to protest detention of immigrants for profit as well as recent deaths at the hands of Border Patrol. We started out the evening standing at a busy intersection in front of the nearby ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention center. We held signs saying things like ‘Honk for immigration reform” and “I am a human too”. After this, we put up the signs and walked together towards the front of the detention center as a leader read out names and stories of people whose lives were robbed by the border patrol. One young boy was shot and killed after allegedly throwing rocks. We then came to the front of the detention center and the leader laid out a blanket to make an altar. We placed our candles on this, and people laid down other objects- such as water and flowers to honor these people. Because Dia de los Muertas (Day of the Dead as well as All Saints Day) was in the past week, we wrote down the names of loved ones that have passed away in chalk on the sidewalk in front of the makeshift altar. After saying their names, everyone called out ‘Presente’—which meant that although our dead loved ones were not here with us physically, they were here with us in spirit. This was a very moving experience for me. We are learning in class about immigration policies, and this was a great opportunity to put my education into action.