Seven arrested after blocking entrance to Florida detention center
For Nestor Ruiz, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., brings back memories of the time his father spent four months detained there before…
At least seven were arrested Wednesday after blocking the entrance of a detention center in Florida. Organizers say the civil disobedience action is meant to highlight the detention of immigrants who are considered low-priority for deportation. (Photo by Florida Immigrant Coalition)
For Nestor Ruiz, the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., brings back memories of the time his father spent four months detained there before he was deported to Mexico in 2006.
The 21-year-old Dreamer was back at the detention center on Wednesday to participate in a civil disobedience action with six other Dreamers and immigration advocates. They were arrested shortly after blocking the entrance of the facility.
At least seven were arrested Wednesday after blocking the entrance of the Broward Transitional Center. (Photo by Florida Immigrant Coalition)
Ruiz and the others said the civil disobedience action is meant to highlight that there are many low-priority immigrants detained in the Broward Transitional Center who could potentially benefit from the immigration executive orders that President Barack Obama is set to announce at the end of the summer.
I have taken action not only for my father, but for the hundreds of other fathers and mothers who became victims of President Obamas deportation machine and havent seen their children in months or even years, Ruiz said, explaining why he decided to participate in the civil disobedience action. I dont want anyone else to experience that same type of pain.
SEE ALSO: Undocumented immigrants ask Obama to shield millions from deportation
United We Dream, which is the nations largest immigrant youth-led organization, organized Wednesdays action. The group has been pressuring Obama to use his executive powers to protect millions from deportation in the absence of immigration reform.
Supporters stood nearby as the seven individuals were arrested in Florida on Wednesday. (Photo by Florida Immigrant Coalition)
United We Dream organizers noted on Wednesday that while many Dreamers have benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that Obama announced in 2012, there are still millions of undocumented immigrants who dont qualify for the federal program and continue facing the threat of deportation.
The President has used executive authority before, bringing more than half million Dreamers out of the shadows, has protected them from deportation, provided them work permits, and now he must use his executive power to do the same for many millions more, stated Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, deputy managing director for United We Dream.
Sousa-Rodriguez added that there are hundreds of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers behind the walls of the Broward Transitional Center who deserve to be free, with their families, and protected from deportation. He also said he hopes Obama will stand with immigrant families by issuing executive orders that lift the burden of deportation from millions of undocumented immigrants.
SEE ALSO: Dreamers tell Sen. Marco Rubio: Stop attacking the DACA program
