Des Moines students urge support for immigrants, asylum seekers with march to Capitol
Nearly 50 members and faculty advisers of Students Against the Camps — a student-run organization at Des Moines East High School — marched from their campus to the State Capitol on Tuesday to advocate for new approaches to immigration policy.
"I'm doing this for my family, my community and my ancestors," said Andy Montalvo Martínez, a junior at East and a first-generation Mexican-American. "We're here to protest against the inhumane conditions immigrants are living in at the U.S. southern border. We're here to protest against the xenophobic immigration polices the Trump administration has produced. We're all here as a community and we're all here fighting for a better future."
Several students held signs bearing pro-Latino and pro-immigration sentiments, some in English and some in Spanish. Motorists honked and waved to teenagers promoting messages such as "Close the camps" and "Keep families together."
Each of the handful of speakers at the Capitol talked about experiences with or fears of immigration officials. Each said they had a family member in the U.S. they were scared to lose because of increased immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump took office.
Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2019/11/19/iowa-students-march-capitol-support-immigration-reform/4241695002/