Victoria Bresnahan – News Editor
Students walked out of class today to rally support for Nelson Pinos, an immigrant, who has been seeking shelter from deportation at the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church on the New Haven green.
“His humanity is stripped away from him because he came to this country when he was 18,” said Justin Farmer, a political science major and activist participating in the rally. “Since then he has worked. He has a home. He is contributing. He is paying taxes.”
Students walked out on Yale campus and at New Haven high schools, as well.
Originally from Ecuador, Pinos has been living in the church for 294 days, said Jesus Morales, an organizer at Unidad Latina en Accion.
“He has not been able to leave a building,” said Morales. “He has not been able to go to the park.”
Community Outreach Chair for the Muslim Students Association and activist at the rally, Asma Rahimyar, said, during the rally, they were standing in solidarity not only for Nelson, but the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
“Every single person deserves human rights, regardless of where they are from,” said Rahimyar. “What background they come from, and what they have been through. So, whenever that human right is infringed upon we need to get up and we need to speak out.”
Photo Credit: Jenna Stepleman
Featured Image: On this Thursday September 20, during the student walkout, participants Lisa Bergmann, Jazmine Vega, Brianna Antonazzo, and Asma Rahimyar hold signs. (Jenna Stepleman)
