Students, professors, community protest immigration policies at Pomona College commencement

Students, professors, community protest immigration policies at Pomona College commencement

By Liset Márquez, Staff Writer

Posted: 05/16/2010 07:57:35 PM PDT

CLAREMONT - Nick Gerber wanted to make it clear as he graduated from Pomona College that he opposed commencement speaker Janet Napolitano and her policies on immigration.

Wearing a white sash, Gerber was among 300 people from the May 16 Coalition who protested the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's appearance at Pomona College on Sunday.

The group was calling for an end to what they claim are discriminatory immigration enforcement policies in her department.

"Wherever (Napolitano) and others who continue to support shameful immigration policies go, we're going to be there demanding change," Gerber told the marchers just before leaving for his graduation Sunday morning.

The coalition, which consists of students, community leaders, immigrant workers, professors, unions and community-based organizations in the Inland Empire, marched through Claremont along Indian Hill Boulevard before stopping at the graduation ceremonies at Pomona College.

While some protesters were beating drums, others passionately chanted "Si se puede (Yes, we can)," and "Hey, hey, what do you say? Immigrants are here to say."

The group also held signs with the messages "Alto (stop) Arizona" and "We are all Arizona."

Showing their support for the coalition, several students and a majority of professors also wore white sashes during the commencement ceremony.

Earlier in the morning, just before Andrew Halladay graduated from Pomona College, he met with the protesters.

"To me, this was far more important than the graduation." the 21-year-old said. "Today is about stopping these policies that have been going on for generations."

As Napolitano addressed the graduates, she did not ignore the hundreds of chants that were going on 200 feet away.

The former Arizona governor briefly spoke about immigration before imparting some words of encouragement to the 375 graduates.

"You see and you hear here today in this community and nationally, the issue of immigration is part of our national debate," Napolitano told the thousands in attendance.

Too often, Napolitano said, the issue of immigration has been passed off from one Congress to the next and from administration to administration.

"Today is not a day to debate policies, but the status quo is no longer acceptable," she said.

She added, "We are a nation of immigrants, also a nation of laws. We are, I am, committed to comprehensive reform."

Under Napolitano, Homeland Security has strengthened its partnership with local law-enforcement agencies. The department's policies now give local police more authority for immigration enforcement, said Jose Calderon, a Pomona College professor.

The coalition would like for Napolitano to end raids and deportations that separate families, he said.

Calderon also called for a fair path to citizenship.

It is a national issue that has divided many and on Sunday at Marston Square - where the ceremony was being held - it was no different.

As coalition members protested on the west side of College Avenue, the east side was occupied by about a dozen members of We the People, a local chapter of the Minutemen organization.

Raymond Herrera, the founder of the local organization, said he was not concerned about the coalition but also came out to protest against Napolitano.

Herrera said the group felt Napolitano had not done enough to secure the borders. They also wanted to let her know they do not support amnesty, he said.

We the People members held Arizona and American flags as well as signs that read "No amnesty," and "Stop immigration."

Across the street, the protesters filled the steps of the Carnegie Building and the sidewalk in front of the building.

The coalition arrived about 30 minutes into the commencement, and the commotion caused several people to leave their seats and take photos of the protesters.

Korilynn Chapman, who was attending her boyfriend's graduation, felt the march was a distraction and "took away," from those getting their degrees.

But Pomona College grad Karen Ferreira supported the activists.

"It's a beautiful resistance because you see Pomona workers, warehouse workers, and you know it's not just a struggle in Arizona. It's a larger struggle."

liset.marquez@inlandnewspapers.com

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For the record I was one of the photographers and I was on my way to the Farmer's Market. It is normal for me to cross the Pomona College campus and I accidently got in the middle of the protest by pure accident. The impact that the protest had on the graduation event was almost zero as the police and campus security had the protesters well under control. The San Francisco Police couldn't have done a better job in protest control and compared to San Francisco protests this event in Claremont CA was a non-event. There was nothing like storming the Bay Bridge or shutting down traffic. The protesters used the side walk; but protesters in San Francisco shut down streets. Whoever heard of protesters obeying traffic laws and walking on a sidewalk; but that is the kind of very controlled protests that happen in Claremont, CA.