by Yucheng Tang
posted Feb. 3
More than 100 people participated in a peaceful protest to show solidarity with immigrants today in Chico, and more hit the streets in Gridley and elsewhere in the state.
Participants marched around Chico State, danced spontaneously in City Plaza, and stood on the sidewalk next to the plaza, holding signs and shouting at passing vehicles.
Magdalen Riestra, 21, a public health student at Chico State, organized the protest.
“There’s a lot of issues surrounding immigration and immigrants coming into this country for a better life,” Riestra said. “They are being told by the media and our president that they are not wanted here and that is not fair. They built America since a long time ago, and no person is illegal on stolen land.
“I wanted to make this protest to make people come together and voice their opinions about this and their support for the immigrant community,” Riestra said.
She made the flier this morning, sent it to her friends and asked them to repost it on social media.
“There was a great turnout in the end,” Riestra said.
She said most participants were Hispanic students from Chico State. Riestra’s own father came to the United States from Mexico when he was 15 and was undocumented for years before getting citizenship.
Alejandra Cordero-Munoz joined the protest for her parents, who come from Durango and Chihuahua in Mexico.
“My parents are both immigrant workers, and none of them have criminal records in any other way. And they’re here just to make my future better,” Cordero-Munoz said, noting that many of the protesters were speaking on behalf of family members, who came to this country to better their children’s lives.
Riestra told ChicoSol that a lot of students who don’t have papers have been worried. “Some of them don’t even want to come to class, and some of them weren’t even able to come out to support [the protest] today, because they’re not sure about how the turnout is going to be, or if they’re going to get in trouble.”
Yucheng Tang reports for ChicoSol.