Students gathered outside Mary Graydon Center for the “Home is Here” rally to show their support for Dreamers on Nov. 12. Hosted by the League of United Latin American Citizens, along with other student groups, the rally was part of a larger organized protest as the Supreme Court began to hear arguments on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on the steps of MGC, about 50 students made their voices heard on campus before joining the larger rally held at the Supreme Court.
“Our purpose is solidarity,” said Brian Kramer, a freshman and organizer from LULAC. “I’m an ally. There are 800,000 people who have DACA and need to be protected, and the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could determine their safety and how they’re going to be.”
After rallying together outside of MGC, the students chanted as they made their way to the Supreme Court, chanting “Immigrants are welcome here” and “Donald Trump has got to go.”
The case being heard at the Supreme Court includes three consolidated cases regarding whether President Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA is lawful. If the case is defeated, it would leave those currently protected by the DACA program vulnerable to deportation.
“We want to protect DACA recipients and to make sure they are staying in this country and just to protect people’s rights really. I think that’s the larger overarching message,” said Lily Hart, a sophomore and the director of activism for AU Dems.
This isn’t the first time AU students have taken a stand on DACA. In 2017, they protested at the Senate building to urge congress to pass a “clean DREAM act.” Additionally, President Sylvia Burwell signed onto an amicus brief in October encouraging the Supreme Court to protect DACA recipients, along with 164 other colleges and universities.
Kramer said that planning the rally involved learning how to do outreach and community organizing with organizations such as United We Dream. Hart added that the role of organizations such as AU College Democrats was to promote the rally and raise awareness about the issue.
“We are all human. No human being is illegal,” Kramer said. “That’s ridiculous that people think that and you have to fight for people that you don’t know. This is people’s lives that are at stake and you’ve gotta show up and fight for them.”
