I'm proud of this Cal Bear!
UC Berkeley student senator arrested in immigration rally
By Matt O'Brien
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/12/2011 06:49:13 PM PDT
A UC Berkeley student senator and six other
illegal
immigrant students were arrested in San Bernardino
on Tuesday after they blocked a city street during an
immigration rally, according to police and fellow
protesters.
Political science student Ju Hong, 21, a graduate of
Alameda High School, had traveled to San
Bernardino Valley College for a "coming out" rally
for undocumented students from across the state to
share their stories.
College officials said the rally went smoothly until
the protesters left the campus grounds and
interrupted traffic on Mt. Vernon Avenue, a multilane
thoroughfare adjacent to the campus.
"Once they started to jockey with the traffic and the
buses, life got a little more complicated," said
college spokeswoman Alisa Moore. "If I were testing
that law, I don't think I'd test it with the San
Bernardino police."
Friends say Hong intended to make a statement, but
they are worried that the arrest could trigger his
deportation. Through the federal Secure
Communities program, which has been implemented
in all of California's counties, anyone arrested and
booked in a county jail gets fingerprints sent to a
federal database monitored by agents from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"Ju's been very vocal about his immigration status.
He just really wanted to share his story," said friend
Yong Eo. Hong has lived in the East Bay since his
family brought him here on a tourist visa from South
Korea when he
was 11.
The seven are charged with unlawful assembly and
failure to disperse for blocking an "extremely busy
street" and refusing to leave, said San Bernardino
police Lt. Gwendolyn Brooks. She did not know their
immigration status and said it is up to the sheriff's
department and immigration agents to decide if they
pursue the students for being in the country
illegally.
"I don't know if they take them on misdemeanors,"
Brooks said. "It's between the jail and ICE to make
that decision."
The other arrested students attended Pasadena City
College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Cal State San
Bernardino and East Los Angeles College, said
protester Javier Hernandez.
"They stood tall when they were arrested," he said.
"They knew the risks."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18464906