YES Members Head To Washington D.C. For Immigration Reform Rally

More than 50 Racine area students and adults are traveling Washington D.C. for tomorrow's "Time is Now" rally for immigration reform. A send-off for the group was held Tuesday at the Racine Labor Center.

Thousands of undocumented workers are expected to participate in the rally, which will be held on Wednesday. Racine's Youth Empowered in the Struggle group wants to join those putting political pressure on federal legislators and President Barack Obama to pass an immigration reform bill, which is expected to be introduced this week.

Valeria Ruiz, a junior at Case High School and a member of YES, was among several speakers who told their story at Tuesday's event. 

"I'm undocumented and I am unafraid," she said.

Ruiz talked about why it is important to her for legislators to pass this bill, which the Washington Post reports will allow 11 million illegal immigrants to become citizens, offer new visa programs for low- and highly-skilled workers and farm workers, increase border control and workplace security measures and eliminate some categories of family visas.

When Ruiz was 3 years old her mother left to come to the United States. She and her father joined later, after they were smuggled into the country. Now, at the age of 17, she is a temporary worker, which means that she can get a driver's license and a job.

"But I'm not happy," Ruiz told the crowd.

She said she wants to become a legal citizen, graduate from high school and go to college. But even more than that, she wants to be able to qualify for financial aid and find a good job. The way things are now, even though she's lived in the state for most of her life, she would have to pay out of state tuition.

The group, comprised of members of YES and Voces De La Frontera, will lobby legislators to get their support for the bill. However, some of that groundwork has already been done.

Ruiz and several others from YES met with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) in February to talk about immigration reform.

"I told him he has heard many stories like mine," Ruiz said. "But I wanted him to always keep in mind the struggle that we face every single day. And with that he said that he supports immigration reform and he really wants this immigration reform to pass.

"He also said he likes what we're doing, that he supports us and for us to keep on doing what we are doing."