By Millicent Jefferson

I arrived to yesterday’s immigration rally on Olvera St. in downtown Los Angeles not knowing how or if this would be different than some of the events that have been taking place over the past month.

One thing that struck me while I was at the event was the number of kids involved. As I think back to the march last month I remembered seeing a lot of children there also.

Moments after I arrived I walked past a Korean family. One of the children, a little girl, was holding a sign that said “We are not criminals.”

Suspecting that they were probably not illegal immigrants I asked the 10-year-old whose mother did not want me to use her name why she was holding the sign.

“Because some of our friends are out here and they are not criminals,” the little girl said.

She went on to explain that where she lives a lot of children she goes to school with and a lot of her neighbors were coming to the rally. She said that she wanted to participate because she did not want any of her friends “moms or dads to be arrested for coming to the United States.”

“So, I asked my mom to bring me out here,” she said.

“When she asked me to bring her I thought why not,” said Nancy Lim, the 10-year-old’s mother. Lim explained that her family immigrated long before 9-11 and that her daughter was born here. Lim said she doesn’t think that her daughter completely understands the complex issue of immigration but she understands that it could affect her friends and their families. Lim said she doesn’t agree completely with either side of the debate, but thought it was important for her daughter to see.

“I think this is historic and I wanted my daughter to be a part of it especially since she wanted to be a part of it,” Lim said.

Walking through the crowd I saw chanting some children attentively watching their parents and some children who looked plain bewildered. I wondered how much the children really understood. Was this rally just a place of cotton candy and souvenirs to them or did they truly understand how important upcoming decisions on this issue really were. As I looked at various little faces I found myself wondering if anyone in their families was going to be affected. And on the other hand shouldn’t affluent families and families that don’t have citizenship concerns be teaching their children about what is going on even if they disagree?

I thought about all of the student protests over the last month. I suspect that a lot of the students who walked out were passionate, but a lot walked out because it was a good opportunity to leave school and “not get in trouble.” Little did they know truancy trumps the first amendment during school hours. Whatever the reason, students of all ages are making it their business to get involved if for no other reason to exercise their rights.