In the midst of ongoing protests and political dispute over the nation’s illegal immigrants policy’s effect on college students and the DREAM Act, seven California students, who happen to be illegal immigrants, were arrested in a street protest. According to The Huffington Post, they say they are testing Obama’s immigration policy to see if they will be deported.
One of the students, a 24-year-old communications student and incoming freshman to Pasadena City College named Jonathan Perez, said to The Washington Post that he was “questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday after the group was arrested in San Bernardino for blocking traffic.”
The group of students used their experience to illustrate that “immigration authorities are investigating students who come into contact with law enforcement for minor violations” by blocking a southern California road.
The two-package bill that is passing through the state’s Senate, would allow undocumented immigrant college students who qualify for in-state tuition to also be eligible to apply for scholarships along with other students. Alongside the arrested students, like-minded promoters of the bill argue that this is a civil rights issue.
The California students were released after 12 hours and are being charged with unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. An investigation is ongoing through Immigration and Customs Enforcement.