When UCLA student Daniela Conde and fellow immigrant worker
activists for the Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride were stopped by
U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas two weeks ago, Conde overcame
her fears.
“I felt I couldn’t get too emotional because I had
to be strong for everyone else, just like how we had to be strong
for each other,” Conde, a second-year political science
student said, adding that she felt responsible for keeping others
calm.
Beginning on Sept. 23 Conde, along with 900 other immigrant
worker activists from all parts of the country, traveled across the
United States attending rallies, church services and marches
““ all to raise national awareness for what they believe is
the need to reform current immigration laws.
Three UCLA students, including Conde, participated in the rides.
Emily Kane, co-president of UCLA Hillel, and Angela Jamison, a
doctoral student in sociology, were both aboard the buses with
Conde.
“It was definitely one of the most profound experiences
I’ve had in activism,” Jamison said.
As a child of Mexican immigrants, Conde said she grew up
witnessing the injustices her parents faced and believed there
needed to be changes in immigration laws.
“I wanted to go because all my life, I saw how my parents
struggled … and the disrespect they had to put up with,”
Conde said.
Conde, who is the the community and labor commissioner of MEChA
de UCLA, learned about the ride while watching a presentation at a
MEChA meeting.
The freedom ride, which was inspired by those of the Civil
Rights Movement, originated in nine major U.S. cities, including
Miami, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles. Conde was aboard the L.A.
bus with 100 other freedom riders.
At Sierra Blanca, Texas, riders aboard the L.A. bus were
detained at an Immigration and Naturalization Service checkpoint.
Conde said that as INS agents boarded the bus to ask for
documentation of citizenship, all riders raised customized
identification badges, while remaining silent.
Conde said this was all part of a previously designed solidarity
plan, in which all would band together in case a situation such as
detainment arose.
“Everyone was in tune with the solidarity plan, and we
knew what we had to do,” Conde said.
Rather than showing documentation, riders sang “We Shall
Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine” as part
of the plan.
“It helped that we were singing. I could feel the singing
from our hearts and felt our strength,” Conde said.
Because the group refused to show documentation, Conde said, INS
agents started taking people off the bus and into the detention
center in groups of four. Conde was one of the first detained. She
said riders were then fingerprinted and interrogated.
Dan Gregor, an attorney from the National Lawyers Guild, was
aboard the bus as part of the legal support team.
Gregor said border patrol agents have the legal authority to
enforce immigration laws within a 25-mile zone of the border.
Gregor added, however, that riders invoked their right to remain
silent and that both parties were acting legally.
Four hours after riders were detained, INS agents released them
following a call from the Justice Department. After boarding the
bus, Conde said they stopped to celebrate.
“We celebrated because we sensed the solidarity within all
of us,” Conde said. “Nobody really knew each other (in
the beginning), but we knew we had to trust each other.”
Jamison believed the detainment was a positive experience.
“I felt that, ironically, it was a very positive thing to
have happened because it brought solidarity to our group,”
Jamison said
Jamison said the incident brought national attention to the
their cause and that the experience was an emotional one.
On Oct. 2, riders arrived in Washington, D.C., and met with Rep.
Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, where they discussed their concern
about immigrant workers’ rights.
The two weeks of activism concluded with a rally in Flushing
Meadows, N.Y., which drew a crowd of about 200,000 people.
Celebrating in the rain, Conde and the riders listened to speakers
from several unions such as the AFL-CIO. Conde added that at the
rally several riders from other cities approached her regarding the
detainment.
“They told me that I was an inspiration to them … that
all of us were heroes in their eyes,” Conde said.
Reflecting on the ride, Conde believes the activists
accomplished their goal of raising awareness of the need to reform
immigrant workers’ rights.
“I feel that we did expose a lot of the injustices that
are done to immigrant workers and what kind of lives they
face,” Conde said. “We need to follow up with the
congresspeople … and follow up with the communities that
supported us at different rallies.”
Conde also said she wants to continue working to fight injustice
in the future.
“I know I’m going to dedicate my life to social
justice,” Conde said. “This is something that is a part
of me.”