One local organization is using the nationwide "A Day Without Immigrants" effort to bring awareness to issues that the immigrant community faces in Huntsville.
People from different backgrounds and of different ages attended the event Monday, wanting to show solidarity for the immigration community in North Alabama and to use this event as a stepping stone in their fight for change.
For Aylene Amato Valentine, who organized the event, Monday marked the first time she shared her family's story publicly. In 2016, she said, her husband was deported amid their efforts to get him citizenship.
Amato Valentin, who was born in Puerto Rico and came to Alabama as a child, said they tried unsuccessfully to keep him in the country.
"Only 1 in 10 removal cases are approved, so even if you're a citizen, you're married to an undocumented person, it does not save you," she said. "We lost everything. We had to start over."
Amato Valentin said her story is like so many others in the immigrant community, including 7-year-old Julian, who is in the process of gaining his U.S. citizenship. His journey has been a struggle for his grandmother, who cares for him.
While the national event is more of a call for people in the community to not work, attend school or spend money, Amato Valentin said the event here locally was meant to shine light on issues the immigrant community faces locally and to support one another in their efforts to create change.
"This movement is not just one day, 'we're going to do this one day and it's over.' I feel like this is the beginning of something, and we're going to get something out of it," Luis Angelo Irvera, who attended the event, said.
Amato Valentin said the group will continue to focus more toward building relationships with local leaders in hopes that the changes they want come to fruition.
