Immigrants march to protest county's policies

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Ricardo Juarez Nava walked more than two miles barefoot through Manassas Park and Manassas on Monday.

But he said the discomfort he endured would never be the same as the pain Agueda Dominguez claims she suffered at the hands of a Manassas Park police officer.

Nava, general coordinator for Mexicans Without Borders, was one of about 200 people who marched from Manassas Park to the Judicial Center in Manassas to bring attention to Dominguez’ case and Hispanic immigrant issues in general.

The turnout didn’t match the crowd of 500 that was expected, but Nava said numbers weren’t the point anyway.

“It’s about the message for us,” he said before the pro-immigrant group began its march. “The message we want to send.”
And that message was that governments are persecuting immigrants.

Thus, their use of a familiar protest call-and-response chant, shouted first in Spanish and, later in the march, in English:
“What do we want?”

“Justice!”

“When do we want it?”

“Now!”

The line of marchers snaked its way from Mathis Avenue in Manassas Park, through Old Town Manassas and on to the county courthouse.

They carried signs decrying what they say are anti-immigrant policies by local governments, such as the Immigration & Customs Enforcement 287(g) program, aimed at deporting illegal immigrants who have broken other laws.
One sign said: “Nadie es ilegal (No one is illegal).”

Dominguez’ case, however, seemed to be what was foremost on everyone’s mind.

The 38-year-old Salvadoran immigrant says that Manassas Park police Lt. Rupert Prinz beat her during a routine traffic stop on Feb. 2 because she refused to sign a ticket for having a broken headlight.

She says that she can speak English, and didn’t understand Prinz.

State police are investigating the incident in which Prinz was also injured. But as of late last week, Manassas Park police said they still had not received an official complaint from Dominguez.

That didn’t stop marchers from chanting their support for her, however.

“Agueda Dominguez,” a leader would chant through a megaphone before the crowd responded in Spanish with “The people are with you!”

And it didn’t stop the dozens of marchers, mostly Hispanic immigrants of varying ages, from demanding a response for what Dominguez described as Prinz’ actions.

“Why is he still working today?” asked Pedro Biaggi, morning disc jockey for the Annapolis, Md., Spanish-language radio station El Zol 99.1.

Biaggi was one of a handful of people who spoke at a candlelight vigil at the courthouse at the end of the march.

Each took to the microphone while overlooking the crowd from the bed of a pickup truck. They ranged from Maria Alvarez, a Warrenton resident who also claims abuse at the hands of authorities, to Dexter Fox, who chairs the anti-discrimination group Unity in the Community.

Fox called for respect for the human rights of all.

“Today, as we look at challenged budgets, realigned governmental priorities and policies that allow us to sanction discrimination at the expense of beneficial social programs,” he said, “I remind you that each of us is called by our common human bond to respect the rights and dignity of every human being and that none of us is truly free or safe until all of us are truly safe and free.”

Or, as Denita Ramirez, who lives in eastern Prince William, put it: “Until there is justice, we will continue to march upon injustice.”

Dominguez spoke briefly, as well, mainly to thank the crowd for its support and to relate a bit about how she came to America.

“Even in spite of everything that’s happened to me,” she said through a translator, “I am very thankful for the opportunity I have.”

At the end of the event, she was greeted by hugs and well wishes from nearly everyone she encountered.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.