Advocates for immigration reform rallied in South Bend Thursday night, calling on Indiana lawmakers to make changes that would help many undocumented Hoosiers.
Although the issues aren’t new, they are getting renewed support from Black Lives Matter groups and a recent win at the Supreme Court.
Organizations including the Cosecha Movement, Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, and La Casa De Amistad rallied together. Along with suspending immigration law enforcement, they’re demanding the state legislature provide access to driver’s licenses, professional certifications, and in-state college tuition. This comes a week after the Supreme Court halted a Trump administration effort to end the DACA program.
Darryl Heller of the South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center said Black Lives Matter groups should fully support undocumented citizens, noting that Black Americans had to fight to be considered citizens too.
“We’re comrades because this fight is our fight,” he said. “It’s a fight that we all take to heart because an injustice to anyone is an injustice to everyone.”
READ MORE: What’s Driving This Moment In Indiana: Protest Organizers Discuss Demands For Change
The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance is planning another demonstration on July 4 at the state's only immigration detention center in Clay County.
Contact reporter Justin at jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.