Students from Irving, Dallas, Plano and Mesquite ISD protested at City Hall for a 2nd day today.
The students were protesting new measures discussed by the House to make helping illegal immigrants a crime.
Many Hispanic leaders are asking the students to remain in school now, after two days of walk-outs and protest on Saturdays and Sundays.
After thousands of North Texas students left classes for a second day in response to proposed legislation that would make it a felony to enter the country illegally or to help illegal immigrants, community leaders issued a plea Tuesday afternoon for the students to take more “constructive” action.
In a quickly-arranged news conference in City Hall’s Flag Room, the leaders talked about the need for students to end the walkouts, and gave several students the opportunity to speak about their feelings.
“The walkouts have been very effective, but it’s time for everyone to go back to school and start writing letters and making phone calls to your senator or congressman,” said Domingo Garcia, a Dallas lawyer and current National Civil Rights Chairman for LULAC.
Garcia said a civil rights march will be held in Dallas on April 9, and encouraged students and others who felt strongly about the issue to plan on taking part in that event rather than missing additional classes.
I wonder how much of the protest was heard about in Washington. And sadly I wonder if it has made any difference.
An interesting sidebar: KTVT had video of several students saying they were organized by using Myspace.com. Makes you realize how powerful a tool it can be if used properly. Several thousand students organized the rally on Dallas City Hall with Myspace. It’s a powerful tool for sure.