August 16, 2012

Stepping out and standing up for immigrant rights.
   
A group of undocumented men and women are rallying for change.
    
They're also overcoming fear.

The "No Papers, No Fear" movement made a stop in Nashville Thursday.

Dozens of people showed up to say they are undocumented and unafraid.
  
A nationwide effort is being made to raise awareness, and illegal immigrants tell us they're coming out of the shadows to call for equality.

It's a message we don't often hear.  Undocumented immigrants are proclaiming they're unafraid.

They're also speaking out to challenge what they view as anti-immigrant policies.

"There's more risk being in the shadows than there is being out of the shadows.  When you're out of the shadows, you have more strength," says Nashville resident Luis Escoto.

Luis Escoto is one of the dozens of local residents who are joining forces with a nationwide movement.
     
The Undocubus is traveling from Arizona to North Carolina, and on board are mothers, fathers, day laborers and students.  They are all without papers.

"If they are here then let them be able to give back to he country they call home," says Escoto.

The Undocubus riders and their supporters held a rally in South Nashville Thursday night.
        
Many of the travelers are staying at a local church where Gail Seavey is the pastor.

"We're standing on the side of love, because we believe that the worst thing that's happening in this country, that people are being ruled by hate," says Rev. Gail Seavey with the First Unitarian Universalist Church.

The group is challenging deportation laws and calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

"We want no more separations of families or to have young people not to be able to study," says Undocubus rider Mari Cruz.

The Undocubus is making its way to North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention, but the caravan is encouraging others to step out along the way.

"Whether we're black, white, or any other race, we're all a family. We're all humans and we're all equal," says Escoto.

 The undocumented workers were also celebrating a key change in the law that just took effect.
     
It allows young immigrants to apply for a work permit and defers deportation proceedings for two years.

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