Reply #2: Montgomery Advertiser: Arrests made in immigration law protest

[pampango]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20111115/NEWS/111115017/Activists-stage-protest-Montgomery-over-immigration-law-?odyssey=mod%7Cbreaking%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

The protestors arrested were all undocumented immigrants, living in different parts of the country. Under the law, the protestors risk being turned over to immigration authorities and possible deportation, a risk all said they were aware of.

The two-hour protest, which drew approximately 70 people and included a march around the Capitol, was energetic but peaceful. Protestors did not appear to resist Montgomery police, who began arresting them at about 4:15 p.m. after blocking South Union Street for about an hour.

Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said Tuesday night he planned to post bond Wednesday morning for everyone who had been arrested.

The protest was organized by the Alabama Youth Collective, which advocates for undocumented aliens. Mohammed Abdollahi, a spokesman for the group, said the protest was aimed at giving the undocumented a face for politicians and a voice to speak out.

“All these (politicians) are able to do what they do because they recognize this community lives in fear,” said Abdollahi, himself an undocumented alien from Iran, who added they wanted to show the undocumented to “recognize you have a voice.”

A small group of protestors went to the seventh floor of the state Capitol to deliver a letter asking Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, one of the sponsors of the law, to renounce it. Beason was not in his office today, and the letter was given to a receptionist.

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