By Ashley Antonini

Local activists gathered in Bloomington Tuesday in support of protecting those locally associated with DACA.

The “We Support Dreamers Vigil” took place in front of the Bloomington Center of the Performing Arts. The event was centered around the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy for immigrant minors who were brought to America with their parents or guardians. DACA is now being threatened by deportation due to new policies from the Trump Administration. Local activists are working to change that.

“We want an act to protect them to allow them to live, to study, to work, and to thrive,” said local activist Susan O’Rourke.

Many activists grilled some local politicians by saying these representatives are not doing enough to help the Dreamers within the community. O’Rourke focused mainly on Representative Darin LaHood, stating that he is not necessarily being pro-active about protecting the Dreamers in the community nor is he listening to the voices in the community to support these Dreamers. Her take was that he was too focused on the views of his donors, rather than the community as a whole. O’Rourke added that change can be as soon as a month away. The polls will open up, with possible representatives being voted out.

“What we need to do is gather votes…so we can get someone into office who listens to their constituents,” said O’Rourke.

Of the crowd in attendance, O’Rourke noted that there was no one there who was actually part of DACA. However, she said there were no hard feelings, the Dreamers were most likely trying to protect themselves.

“They are afraid to show their faces in person, they are afraid to be identified as Dreamers, because that is the quickest way to be deported. So we have to stand up for them. They contribute significantly to our society and to the health and well-being of our society, and by-golly we have got to speak up for them.”

Ashley Antonini can be reached at [email protected].