Hundreds of students march in San Jose to call for change in Congress

Byby Janine De la Vega KGO logo
Monday, March 5, 2018
Hundreds of students march in San Jose to call for change in Congress
Students across the country took to the streets on Monday, calling on Congress to act on behalf of Dreamers and other undocumented youth.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Students across the country took to the streets on Monday, calling on Congress to act on behalf of Dreamers and other undocumented youth. The action was held on this day because March 5th was the deadline President Trump had set to end DACA before the courts stepped in.

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Hundreds of teenagers chanted "Si se puede" in front of San Jose City Hall. Many held signs demanding families not be ripped apart. Many in the crowd are either DACA recipients, Dreamers, or have family or friends that are undocumented. They're using Monday to call on Congress to pass a clean Dream Act and call for the reinstatement of Temporary Protective Status for countries that were terminated, like El Salvador.

Some worry their parents may be deported.

RELATED: Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's appeal to end DACA

"Losing my mom, she's been there all my life, it's just going to be heartbreaking for me, it's going to be hard," said Gisselle Bonilla, a 15-year-old student at Notre Dame whose mother is from El Salvador.

Monday marked the deadline President Trump had set for the DACA program to end. It protected children of undocumented immigrants for a two year period. The Supreme Court chose not to hear the issue last week and is letting the Court of Appeals handle it. That means DACA recipients can continue to renew their status, but their future is still in limbo.

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"It's something that affects your co workers, your sister, your friend, your family members, your doctors and your teachers. I feel this is a human issue. It's no longer a thing of politics. It's not a debate between Republicans and Democrats. It's a human issue that needs to be resolved now," said one DACA recipient and student at San Jose City College.

She said she loves the United States but fears for herself and her family. She is holding onto her dream of becoming a pediatrician.

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