ARIZONA

Phoenix families, Promise Arizona march to city hall on National Day of Action

Capitol visits with Arizona legislators, a citizenship fair and a day of phone banking are planned for Monday

Yihyun Jeong, Trevor Fay, and Meghan Finnerty
The Republic | azcentral.com
Protesters march towards Phoenix City Hall April 30, 2017. Promise Arizona held a march made-up of mostly teens and children who were marching with the goal of keeping families together.
  • 150 similar events planned across country
  • Ceremony at Tent City scheduled for Sunday night
  • Overnight vigil scheduled

They gathered together at several locations around Phoenix on Sunday with a simple message: Keep the families of undocumented immigrants together.

The events were planned Sunday and Monday in Phoenix as part of the “Rise Up, National Day of Action” with similar events scheduled in about 130 cities across the country.

Immigrant rights advocacy group Promise Arizona organized the two days of actions, marking El Dia de los Niños and May Day, said David Ayala, state field director.

Sunday's scheduled events in Phoenix included a children’s procession from Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church to Phoenix City Hall and the Arizona State Capitol and a Tent City ceremony recognizing those caught up in immigration raids under former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. An overnight vigil was planned at the state Capitol.

Capitol visits with Arizona legislators, a citizenship fair and a day of phone banking are planned for Monday.

RELATED: "Not one more:" Group protests family deportations

A march from the Immaculate Heart church started around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. More than 100 children and parents marched from the church to Phoenix City Hall. They were dressed in white, carried white balloons and held signs that said "Keep families together" and "We rise up."

“The first thing that we want is peace," said Francisco Ocampo, as he walked, wearing an orange mask that resembled a cat.

"What we want is the same equal rights for all the people who come from Latin America. We only want to work in this country. We don’t want to cause trouble.”

Outside Phoenix City Hall on Sunday afternoon, about 70 people gathered with some wearing traditional Native American clothing.

Petra Falcon, executive director of Promise Arizona, said the children of undocumented immigrants are fearful of their parents being deported at any moment.

"They're worried about their mom and dad not being there to pick them up from school. They're worried about their mom and dad not being there at night ... that they might not see them again," she said.

The goal is to send a message of hope and unity, said Claudia Faudoa, an organizer for Promise Arizona.

“That’s why we’re here today. All these kids represent the kids whose parents (are) being separated by the broken immigration system. We want to keep our families together.”

Andrea, 9, didn't want her last name used but wanted to speak on behalf of her family,

"I want people to know we are standing up to injustices," she said as she stood outside Phoenix City Hall with her mother, aunt and nephew. "We don't want families to be separated because that's what's happening since the new president came in."

Late Sunday afternoon, about 40 people gathered on the lawn outside the Arizona State Capitol. Children ran around laughing, playing tag and eating ice cream from an ice-cream trucked owned by an undocumented immigrant. The event was more of demonstration than a protest. They ate dinner on the lawn, and some planned to spend the night.

On Monday, they hope to speak to elected representatives.

Bellem Salgado, 17, was one of the event's organizers. Her mother is an undocumented immigrant, she said, and  "I don't want to come home one day and not have her there."

She longs for a day when she won't have such worries. 

"This is the future of America," she said. "We won't stop fighting until we win this."

Later Sunday evening, a group of 17 people held hands as the sun set outside Tent City. They placed a white wooden cross next to the Estrella Jail sign.

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced in April he would be closing the open-air jail made famous under his predecessor, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The group bowed their heads.

They prayed to reclaim the land that they said has been the site of abuse and mistreatment of their race.

Even though Tent City, one of their fears, is going away, the community still worries about oppression from recent federal immigration actions.

"There's no safety net now at all here," said Falcon, the executive director of Promise Arizona. "Everybody is vulnerable."