Day Of Action Calls For End Of Deportation

By Joey Palacios
December 12, 2013
Protesters
Joey Palacios
Protesters line up outside of San Antonio's Federal Courthouse Complex.

As part of a national day of action, a small group of protesters in San Antonio are calling for the end of deportations following a request from several members of Congress.

Activists in several cities across the U.S. are organizing in the hope of ending deportations. Under President Barack Obama, nearly two million undocumented immigrants have been removed from the country according to the Pew Research Institute.

With about 20 other protestors outside a federal building in downtown San Antonio, Chavel Lopez with the Southwest Workers Union says people should have the right to migrate.

“As human beings we have a right to migrate across anywhere in this planet. We have a right to living wages, the right to organize, the right unionize," Lopez said.

In addition to the end of deportations, the activists are calling for an immigration package that contains a clear pathway to citizenship, fosters a policy that strengthens the immigrant middle class and does not militarize the border.

Earlier this month 30 members of Congress sent a letter to Obama calling for a pause in deportations. 

Lopez says the protest is being held to line up with the Catholic feast day of the Virgin de Guadalupe, who is considered the patroness of indigenous people in the Americas.