Hundreds Of El Pasoans Protest ‘Broken Immigration System’
Hundreds of El Pasoans came together Friday night to protest what they call a “broken immigration system” that they claim is tearing many families apart.
Organizers of the “Family Unity” event wanted to put a human face on the immigration debate.
Gabriela Castaneda says she’s lived in the U.S. for over ten years. She says she wants to know why she is not allowed to be here even though she pays her taxes and does everything an American citizen does.
Gabriela adds that even though she doesn’t have legal status in the U.S., she wants to go everywhere without feeling like a criminal.
Jared Gallegos, a U.S. citizen, says being separated from his wife and kids is tearing him apart.
Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez says the immigration laws were never intended to separate families, and stresses the U.S. Government should be pursuing the “violent criminal elements” rather than “stripping children from the arms of their mothers.”
Gabriela and Jared were two of the hundreds asking for immigration reform. The El Paso protest was part of a national effort across 17 major cities.
A number of illegal immigration protestors have showed up at each stop, according to “Family Unity” organizers, but apparently none showed up at the El Paso rally.
