Police arrested 150 people this week in front of the White House in the largest act of civil disobedience in immigration rights history, reports the Inquirer (file photo by Nevele Otseog).
The protestors demanded relief from deportations under the Obama Administration which some predict could surpass the 2 million deportations under President George W Bush.
“I volunteered to participate in this mass action because it is very important to me that we highlight the fact that Filipinos are adversely affected by our nation’s broken immigration system,” said Christine Poquiz, a national reproductive justice fellow with National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and one of those arrested. “We need to speak up. Filipinos are disproportionately impacted by the long waiting periods for family members to be reunited,”
An estimated 1,000 people marched to the White House in support of the civil disobedience.
Among the Asian American groups participating in the march were the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA).