Concerned that the national immigration debate is not going their way, a group of young immigrants set off on foot from lower Manhattan to Washington, D.C.
The journey, set to last 15 days, is called The Walk to Stay Home.
Organizers are calling for a clean Dream Act, and said the walkers include both undocumented and legal immigrants. Cata Santiago, a DACA recipient, said she's walking in honor of her parents, who crossed the desert from Mexico into the United States.
"For me it's remembering that they were willing and were brave enough to walk on a hot summer," said Santiago, "where they were dehydrated, where they were rushed by a coyote. I want to remember that on this walk."
The crowd cheered as it began the trek along Broadway at Bowling Green on Thursday, and chanted "Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!"
But some said they were worried about the political climate.
"It's very dangerous," said Ricardo Cruz, a naturalized U.S. citizen.
"Our people, our friends are being detained, going to detention centers," he said. We're being criminalized. We feel we're losing the battle. It's very scary for most of us."
