Suarez is familiar with the deportation process and its effects on families. As a child, federal immigration agents separated her from her parents, who were sent to detention centers in California and Arizona because she was a U.
Now, she is fighting for federal policies that give immigrants a pathway to citizenship that is free of intimidation and racial profiling. Many people from Latin American countries who live in St. Louis, like Suarez, are also supporting immigrant rights on a federal level after President Donald Trump signed executive orders for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to carry out mass deportations on his first day in office.
Some St. Louisans who live in Overland say they have seen federal immigration agents near grocery stores and have been warning family and friends about leaving their homes if they are undocumented or worried that they would be stopped because they are Hispanic. A lot of people are scared and do not go to work, get groceries or do everyday things because they are terrified of being stopped by ICE, said Santiago Trujillo.
Trujillo, 16, is a junior at Ritenour High School who came to the protest to support his friends from school who helped organize it. He said he worries about his mother because her appointment to receive her citizenship documents is constantly pushed back. Throughout the protest, leaders reminded people to let their voices be heard beyond the streets of Overland by contacting their local and state lawmakers to urge laws that would give immigrants rights instead of stripping them.
Cinthia Torres is especially worried about some of the immigration bills that Missouri lawmakers have filed this session that could harm families. Senate Bill 58 , which Republican state Sen. Jill Carter introduced, proposes hefty fines or prison time for people in the U. Republican Sen.
