Anti-Deportation Activists Begin New Hunger Strike In Front Of White House In Support Of Undocumented Immigrants

A group of 16 activists and immigrants from Springfield, Massachusetts and New Orleans kicked off a hunger fast in front of the White House on Tuesday, replacing four from an earlier group who began a similar protest on April 8, according to the Associated Press. The protestors, who now total about three dozen and who were organized by the National Day Labor Organizing Network, are seeking the passage of an immigration reform which would give many undocumented immigrants legal status. But in the meantime, they also seek to pressure President Obama to bring a halt to deportations.

Eusebia González, a resident of New Orleans, told El Diario that many of those pursued by immigration agents had helped with the repair of their city after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “After building the city of New Orleans, now the police detain us and call immigration,” she said. One of the fasters among the group, 47-year-old Guatemalan Santos Gutiérrez, told the AP that her husband had been in detention for five months, leaving her to care for her four children by herself. “A lot of people in my family voted for you,” she said in an open message to Obama, “but you didn’t keep your promise to pass an immigration reform.”

The Washington Post reports that Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions, visited the protestors on Tuesday to express his support. “What's happening right now is unacceptable," Trumka said with regard to deportations. "Thank you to those participating in the hunger strike for calling attention to this untenable, unacceptable situation." The protests come as Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson conducts a review of immigration-enforcement policies.