From the Mouths of Babes: Children Demand Immigration Reform Amanda Peterson Beadle - Immigration Impact
go to original December 8, 2013

Capitol police officer yells at a group of singing immigrant activists, including children, outside Speaker John Boehner's locked office. The activists have been trying to get a meeting with the Speaker of the House for days. The police officer threatened to arrest the group. (KFTStories)

Families across the U.S. are facing the holidays separated from mothers, fathers, and siblings due to deportations and years-long waits for visas. Children - some of whose parents are undocumented immigrants - have taken to the halls of Congress this week to go to congressional offices, meet with members, and ask them to support immigration reform so that their families won’t be separated.

The protests and meetings are part of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement’s (FIRM) Youth in Action campaign to bring children to Washington, D.C. to share their stories. Eleven-year-old Esteban Verdugo told Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), for example, that the holidays are hard for him since his father was deported. “I’m scared that my stepdad could be next. It’s Christmas time and while most families are together, immigrant families like mine continue to be separated,” Verdugo said, according to FIRM. “We need to pass immigration reform now.”

Along with meeting with members, they have gathered in front of House Speaker John Boehner’s office to ask him to bring an immigration bill to the floor for a vote. According to the Huffington Post, a Capitol police officer yelled at the children and advocates Thursday for singing in hallway outside of Boehner’s office:

“We’re not going to have singing in my building,” the officer said, which can be seen in a video posted by KFTStories. “We’re not going to have it. Warning number one, okay? That’s all you get. This is getting old real fast, okay? I’m not going to tolerate it. This is a place of business, and we do not sing in the hallway.”

“Comprende?” he asked, raising his voice.

Read the rest at Immigration Impact

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