Undocumented Students Rally for Reform

Dozens of youth protesters march to Daley Plaza

A year after they first gathered to promote immigration reform for undocumented youth, dozens of young protestors marched to Daley Plaza on Thursday for the second annual “Coming Out of the Shadows Rally.”

Calling themselves "undocumented, unafraid and unapologetic," they encouraged immigrant youth to “lose the fear and organize with their communities.”

Tania Unzueta, a participant who was at last year’s rally, said the events are empowering.

"Last year undocumented youth began to think of undocumented as an intrinsic part of our identity, of who we are, and of how we experience our lives. We sat in a room and said to each other that we were undocumented, and told our stories," she said.  "We realized that this was powerful, and we wanted to share it with the rest of the country, so we declared March 10 'National Coming Out' day, and called ourselves ‘undocumented and unafraid.’ Throughout the year we tried to live by that slogan."

Thursday’s rally was the first public public demonstration since Congress failed to pass the Dream Act. That bill would have provided a conditional path to citizenship for undocumented students.

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