A rally in support of President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration drew about 300 people on Sunday to the Hope Community Center in Apopka.
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-District 9, and U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, were the main speakers. Several groups participated, but the real star at the gathering was "the undocumented immigrant."
Hugo Chavle is just one of the many people who attended the event. He said Obama's order allows his parents a way to come out of the shadows, and it assures that his U.S.-born siblings won't be without parents in the event of deportation.
"It's not just for the parents or the students," Chavle said. "It's for the kids — they need their parents and their father here."
That's just one family's story, though.
According to the U.S. Census, Latinos account for more than 25 percent of Apopka’s population. They work within the nursery, landscaping, farming and construction industries.
Sister Ann Kendrick knows many of the stories because she's worked with the community for 40 years. She welcomed Grayson and Gutierrez to speak about their work on behalf of immigrants and in support of Obama’s executive order.
"There is an effort in Washington to derail that," Kendrick said. "It is not immigration reform. It does not give legal status to people. It simply gives the (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) indication that these people are discretionary and they don't need to be deported."
Grayson also supports the effort to allow certain undocumented immigrants reprieve from deportation — namely those without criminal records, with children and who have lived in the U.S. for a certain amount of time as outlined by the president's executive order.
"They do the work that other people will not do," Grayson said. "They should be paying taxes, they should have car insurance when they're on the road. They should be able to call the police when there's been a crime committed against them."
That message was echoed and supported by many at Sunday's gathering in Apopka, including the family of a little girl who gave a letter to Gutierrez on behalf of her parents.
It's something Gutierrez has experienced before: individual appeals for help coming out of the shadows.
"And then she said thank you for keeping my family together," Gutierrez said. "What a wonderful gift. It's what I do and it's always nice to be reminded of what we work for and who we work for."
Grayson said his congressional district includes 80,000 undocumented immigrants.
The rally in Apopka is part of a nationwide tour by Gutierrez in support of Obama's executive action on immigration.
A few protesters tried to crash the event. Some held signs against "amnesty" on Park Avenue outside the center.
Source: Mynews13
