MDC students rally against deportations

VYTENIS DIDZIULIS
Miami Hearald
Jun 24, 2009

Miami Dade College students rallied in support of a bill before Congress that would allow children of undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and go to school.

Students and educators at Miami Dade College rallied on Tuesday against the deportation of a fellow student and in favor of legislation that would help thousands of undocumented high school graduates attend college.

The rally at the Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami was part of a nationwide campaign by the Washington D.C.-based United We Dream Coalition to raise awareness about the DREAM Act, a bill that would make it easier for an estimated 65,000 high school graduates to go to college. Congress failed to pass it in 2007.

''Most people in my situation, they don't know they are undocumented until they hit that brick wall,'' said Juan Rodriguez, a 20-year-old college student from Colombia, who is now a legal immigrant.

More than 40 students and educators gathered around empty chairs closed off by yellow police tape as a symbol to the 5,000 Florida high school students who can't apply for federal financial aid and other college loans because of their illegal status.

The students also rallied for Walter Lara, a 23-year-old Argentine who moved to Miami when he was 3 and is to be deported July 6. Lara graduated from Honors College with a computer animation degree in 2007, but was arrested by immigration authorities in February while installing satellite dishes for DirecTV.

''Now that we have educated this individual with 15 years of public American education, we are going to send him back to a foreign country, '' said Rolando Montoya, provost of Miami Dade College. ``I consider that a waste.''

Maria Elena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said the protests coincided with President Barack Obama's meetings this week with lawmakers on immigration reform.

'We need him and his administration to put their capital behind this issue and say to Congress, `We need you to act,' '' Hincapie said.