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Immigrant-rights protesters held a demonstration outside the Arizona Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix last week, blasting the Dems for being the “deportation party.”
Videographer Dennis Gilman was there to capture the action, as protesters were particularly upset with recent news that President Obama would delay taking executive action on the immigration front until after the election.
“Over 2 million people have been deported under this president,” Puente Arizona director Carlos Garcia said at the rally. “One thousand people a day are deported from this country, all in the hands of President Obama and the Democratic Party.”
Protesters accused the state’s Democratic Party of not representing Latinos in state issues, and taking their votes for granted.
In fact, Puente’s Garcia recently called for Latinos to boycott the vote in response to Obama’s inaction on immigration.
“Obama’s latest political game demonstrates clearly that the Democratic Party is choosing to fight for another potentially fruitless term in office at the expense of our lives and families,” Garcia said in a statement to the National Day Labor Organizing Network. “In Arizona, we have learned that our community’s bravery far surpasses that of any elected official. With the announcement of the President’s cowardly delay on immigration relief, our support for the Democratic Party cannot be taken for granted. Without affirmative relief for our families, we are calling for a boycott of the vote. We cannot support a party that is destroying our families.”
Garcia did not return New Times’ request for further comment on Friday.
Meanwhile, Gilman got a response from the head of the Arizona Democratic Party about the protest.
Arizona Democratic Party executive director DJ Quinlan told Gilman he sympathized with those who wanted action from the Obama administration immediately, but added, “Our party has not taken a position on that yet.”
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