[A Closer Look]: Students fight anti-immigration legislation

It was the first day of instruction Monday and Jenny Galvez was
preparing to help organize a nationwide “day of action”
about the immigration reform bills in Congress, in addition to
preparing for all her new classes.

Student activists like Galvez, the chairwoman of MEChA, came
back from spring break ready to address how several immigration
proposals in Congress are affecting life around them.

The bill, HR 4437 ““ also called the Border Protection,
Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 ““
was passed by the House of Representatives in December and includes
such provisions as building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border
and making it a felony to be an undocumented immigrant.

A separate bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee
last week, which in contrast to the House bill provides an avenue
toward legal residency for undocumented immigrants and guest
workers.

Galvez said individuals in the organization have been working
with the community to figure out what sort of action is needed.

She said she and fellow students plan to protest as part of a
“day of action” outside of the office of Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., to “make it very clear that (they) are
against the bills and the large anti-immigration sentiment that
seems to be sweeping the nation.”

MEChA plans to work with its sister chapters across the nation
to prepare for the April 20 “action day.”

Among the specifics of the bill, there is one that Galvez said
she is most bothered by ““ the section that subjects those who
employ or provide nonemergency aid to undocumented immigrants to
felony charges and fines.

“Overall the bill is just astonishing because it shows how
much (Latino immigrants) are considered felons and not a part of
this country,” Galvez said.

Passage of the bill would affect all undocumented immigrants
living in the U.S., though most protests have come largely from
Latino populations because they are believed to be the largest
illegal-immigrant ethnic group in the country, with approximately
11 million noncitizens in the United States.

Members of some student groups would be more directly affected
by the bill if it passed. Most of the members in Ideas UCLA, a
student-run group, are undocumented students vulnerable to
deportation.

Saray Gonzalez, the group’s co-chairwoman, said her group
has held workshops throughout the year trying to counsel
undocumented students about the opportunities available to them
““ but it has not had any organized effort to vocalize and
directly protest the bill on a larger scale because they are more
susceptible to deportation.

Gonzales said the bill is most upsetting because “it
incriminates students, parents, children and hard-working
people.”

Jeannie Biniek, the external vice president of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council, has been working within her office to
help prepare those students who want to be active lobbyists in
Washington.

Also, Biniek said that on a previous lobbying trip to
Washington, there was a student who wanted to come along but was
unable to because he was an undocumented immigrant and would not
have been able to fly.

“I think the students who are here deserve the opportunity
to have access to higher education. … (Our office) will help
those who can be very much affected by the bill but have a limited
opportunity to act on it.”

Biniek said the groups that her office has been working with
have primarily organized protest efforts on their own, but her
office has been supporting those students who want to advocate on
their behalf, though she said she was only approached by those
wishing to lobby against the bill.

Other groups on campus, such as Bruin Republicans, have also
been busy following the progress of the bill and educating others
about its implications.

Faith Christiansen, chairwoman of Bruin Republicans, said
because the group has not met since last quarter, she was unable to
comment on whether or not they plan to take action regarding HR
4437.

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