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03/29/2024 03:07:53 am

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Immigration Protesters Stage Mock GOP Funeral In Capitol Complex

Activists staged a mock funeral for the GOP on Monday in protest of the Republican Party's stance on the border crisis.

Dressed in black, members of the youth-led advocacy group, United We Dream, marched through the halls of the Dirksen and Hart Senate building carrying a mock casket painted with the words, "RIP GOP" while singing "We shall overcome."

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The "funeral" march began early Monday morning, setting off from Texas Senator Ted Cruz's office and passing through the offices of Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

The march paused at each office where protesters shared personal stories and insights.

Protest organizer and DREAM member Greisa Martinez said the Republican Party is dead as far as their community is concerned.

"They have killed the dreams of millions of people across the nation. And we're here to say, 'Enough,' " she added.

Another protester said that the Republican Party "no longer speaks for the American people and the nation," though it must be noted that majority of Americans wanted the deportations to be accelerated, according to a Rasmussen Report and Pew Research poll.

Excy Guardado, an activist who arrived in the U.S. as a 4-year-old under falsified documents, said she crossed the border to be with her family.

"I can't imagine being forced to go back to my country Honduras, back to poverty, back to a place where I could die any day, back to a place that has no opportunities for me or my family," she said.

After each stop, protesters left a stuffed teddy bear that served to remind the lawmakers that children seeking refuge from violence should be welcomed and not deported.

The demonstration was held in protest against Republican resistance to Obama's US$3.7 billion emergency funding intended to care for the children immigrants and deter more from crossing the border.

The Republican Party has clearly stated that the funding would have its support only under certain conditions, such as the scrapping of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which allows immigrants to apply for a 2-year temporary relief from deportation.

Activists also rallied against the GOP's intent to change a 2008 law and the proposed Humane Act that would expedite the deportation of illegal minors from the country.

Meanwhile, DREAM members said the immigration reform is tied to LGBT issues.

LGBT DACA applicant Tony Choi said that if the DACA would be removed, it would be similar to the way that LGBTs would be "ostracized" for the way they identify.

"For other undocumented (members of the LGBT community), they also face mob violence, lynchings and even execution," he added.

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