Hundreds rally, demand policy reform

By Margo Consul

Approximately 500 people gathered to rally for immigration reform during Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's speech Thursday.

Demonstrators from as far away as New Mexico marched to encourage family unity and the passing of the DREAM Act.

Multiple organizations from the surrounding area and out of state were a part of organizing this rally. No disturbances or arrests were reported and the Santa Clara Police Department said that the group was peaceful.

CAUSA, An immigration rights coalition from Oregon, was at the rally. "We want you to stop using enforcement practices that are hurting our immigrant community in the United States," Francisco Lopez, executive director and lead organizer for CAUSA said about Napolitano.

The rally began at approximately 5:30 p.m. with a gathering at Marcelli Park on Lafayette Street. The members started to march across the street from campus at approximately 6 p.m. with an accompanying police escort. Seven motorcycle cops and several foot officers were dispatched by SCPD.

Several Bay Area organizations were represented.

Although originally discussed, university administration decided not to allow the rally to be held on campus for safety reasons.

"It is unfortunate that the weight of millions of people does not equal the same weight that an alumna should get," said John Pedigo, a priest at St. Julies Parish.

MEChA, Santa Clara's Latino club on campus, worked with the outside organizations to bring the rally onto campus.

"About a month ago the Silicon Valley Association for Immigration Reform and SIREN contacted us about facilitating the rally -- specifically helping them make it happen on campus," Co-president Fernando Gutierrez said. "We had a couple meetings on campus with a lot of administrators and they all seemed very supportive of it."

However, university event regulations did not align with the desires of the outside groups.

MEChA ultimately decided not to support the event officially, resulting in the move of the march off campus.

"We wanted to be able to control the message, because Janet Napolitano is an alum of Santa Clara and we are very proud of all that she has accomplished and the fact is that she has been very supportive of comprehensive immigration reform," Gutierrez said.

Senior Betsy Purner, a program director for Santa Clara Community Action Programs, said that SCCAP wanted to collaborate with MEChA to bring the rally onto campus, but felt that the outside groups' desires for the event were too aggressive.

Napolitano directly addressed the issue of immigration reform in her formal lecture. "The president has asked me to take a lead on constructing a comprehensive approach to our immigration system that would give us a 21st century approach," she said.

Lorena Melgarejo, a member of the San Francisco Organizing Project, thinks that Napolitano's enforcement of the current laws is destroying family unity.

"It is not about people breaking laws; it's about broken laws breaking people," she said.

The rally also encouraged the passing of the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, was originally introduced to Congress in 2002. The legislation has been denied a floor vote several times.

The bill provides a path to legal citizenship for the estimated 65,000 annual undocumented high school graduates who were not born in the United States, but were raised here from a young age.

Students who meet the requirements would be eligible to apply for a six-year conditional residence permit, allowing them to live legally and attend school in the United States.

In 2007, there were 23 undocumented immigrants attending Santa Clara. Some of them are still enrolled.

"I'm very supportive of the DREAM Act," said Jack Treacy, S.J. "These are young people with great potential, young people who are seeking to expand their minds and their hearts just like we hope for all young people."

In his remarks concluding Napolitano's speech, University President Michael Engh, S.J., showed the university's support for immigration reform and the DREAM Act.

"I thought that it was very powerful," said Guiterrez. "That was him going on record saying this is what we want."

Contact Margo Consul at (408) 554- 4546 or mconsul@scu.edu.