Montgomery Advertiser reported that: After nearly two days in jail, 10 people arrested at a protest against Alabama's immigration law said they believed they had accomplished their goals.
"I think it's very important to show that the community can see that if they organize and they fight back, they can win," said Martin Unzueta, 57, who was released on bond with nine other protesters from the City Jail on Thursday afternoon.
Each was released on $300 bail. Mike Winter, an attorney representing the protesters, and Mohammed Abdollahi, a spokesman for Alabama Youth Initiative, which organized Tuesday's protest, said the money was raised from within Alabama.
Those released from City Jail were charged with disorderly conduct after sitting in and blocking South Union Street during Tuesday's protest. A juvenile who also had been arrested Tuesday was released to her parents earlier.
Two other men -- Ernesto Zumaya, 25, and Cesar Marroquin, 21 -- charged with third-degree trespassing after refusing to move from the lobby of the State House on Tuesday were released Thursday evening from the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Each of them was also released on $300 bail.
Tuesday's event, which drew about 70 people in total, was organized as a protest against both the state law and the Obama administration's deportation policies: Nearly 400,000 people were deported last year, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Participants marched around the Capitol and then settled in and outside the entrance to the State House.
All those arrested said they were undocumented immigrants from different parts of the country. Under state law, law enforcement can detain those they have "reasonable suspicion" of being in the country illegally.
Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said Thursday the city had done what it needed to do.
"Our responsibility was to notify the federal authorities, which we have done," Strange said. "We did not arrest them for any issue for immigration. We arrested them for disorderly conduct."
Temple Black, a spokesman for ICE's New Orleans field office, said Thursday the agency did not issue detainers for those arrested, but was unable to comment on the protestors' legal status.
The protestors said Thursday they were undocumented, but also said they did not tell police their legal status or were not asked for it.
"We went through the normal process like anyone else," said Krsna Avila, 23, an Oakland, Calif., resident originally from Mexico. "When they asked for a Social Security number, we asked them to speak to our lawyers."
Nicolas Gonzalez, 25, a resident of Chicago, said they were told early on that ICE would be coming for them, but never heard anything.
"We only gave them our name, our address and our birth date," Gonzalez said. "They never asked us for anything else, never."
Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery Police Department, said Thursday evening she did not know the precise information that protesters gave to the police.
The protesters said they were treated well by police while in custody. They plan to stay with families in the area tonight who have offered to put them up.
The goal of the protest, said Cinthya Perez, 27, a resident of Indianapolis, was to show other undocumented individuals that they could accomplish a great deal by banding together.
"It's a call to the community to organize and stay strong," said Perez, who said she immigrated to the country from Mexico in 1997.
"I think it's very important to show that the community can see that if they organize and they fight back, they can win," said Martin Unzueta, 57, who was released on bond with nine other protesters from the City Jail on Thursday afternoon.
Each was released on $300 bail. Mike Winter, an attorney representing the protesters, and Mohammed Abdollahi, a spokesman for Alabama Youth Initiative, which organized Tuesday's protest, said the money was raised from within Alabama.
Those released from City Jail were charged with disorderly conduct after sitting in and blocking South Union Street during Tuesday's protest. A juvenile who also had been arrested Tuesday was released to her parents earlier.
Two other men -- Ernesto Zumaya, 25, and Cesar Marroquin, 21 -- charged with third-degree trespassing after refusing to move from the lobby of the State House on Tuesday were released Thursday evening from the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Each of them was also released on $300 bail.
Tuesday's event, which drew about 70 people in total, was organized as a protest against both the state law and the Obama administration's deportation policies: Nearly 400,000 people were deported last year, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Participants marched around the Capitol and then settled in and outside the entrance to the State House.
All those arrested said they were undocumented immigrants from different parts of the country. Under state law, law enforcement can detain those they have "reasonable suspicion" of being in the country illegally.
Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said Thursday the city had done what it needed to do.
"Our responsibility was to notify the federal authorities, which we have done," Strange said. "We did not arrest them for any issue for immigration. We arrested them for disorderly conduct."
Temple Black, a spokesman for ICE's New Orleans field office, said Thursday the agency did not issue detainers for those arrested, but was unable to comment on the protestors' legal status.
The protestors said Thursday they were undocumented, but also said they did not tell police their legal status or were not asked for it.
"We went through the normal process like anyone else," said Krsna Avila, 23, an Oakland, Calif., resident originally from Mexico. "When they asked for a Social Security number, we asked them to speak to our lawyers."
Nicolas Gonzalez, 25, a resident of Chicago, said they were told early on that ICE would be coming for them, but never heard anything.
"We only gave them our name, our address and our birth date," Gonzalez said. "They never asked us for anything else, never."
Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery Police Department, said Thursday evening she did not know the precise information that protesters gave to the police.
The protesters said they were treated well by police while in custody. They plan to stay with families in the area tonight who have offered to put them up.
The goal of the protest, said Cinthya Perez, 27, a resident of Indianapolis, was to show other undocumented individuals that they could accomplish a great deal by banding together.
"It's a call to the community to organize and stay strong," said Perez, who said she immigrated to the country from Mexico in 1997.
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