Hundreds gathered in Homestead on Thursday evening to rally for immigration reform.
The protesters marched around the block near Krome Avenue with signs and banners that read “Halt Deportation Now,” “We Count” and “Stop Separating Families Obama.”
The protesters consisted of local immigration groups and "Dreamers," students who’ve been granted permanent residency so that they can continue their education.
Diego Ramirez is one of those Dreamers. He’s protesting so that his mother can have the same relief he had two years ago when President Obama implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
"I still live with fear that my mom will deported in time," he says, "and that I'll be living in this country without the person who made me who I am."
Ramirez and the other protesters hope that the president and legislators feel the pressure of taking a firm stance on immigration. Obama is set to make an announcement on immigration in September.
Recently the same groups have protested in front of Senator Marco Rubio’s office and at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, where undocumented families are detained.
"We're here to pursue and push President Obama to come out with an announcement that he said he was going to come up with," says Erick Zuniga of Homestead’s Equal Rights for All. "Right now we're just trying to pressure every representative, like from Marco Rubio to Obama, and [to see] if he's against Dreamers or with Dreamers."
