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.