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Two PCC students and five other undocumented immigrant college students were arrested for civil disobedience at an immigration rights rally in front of San Bernardino Valley College.

According to the students, the event was harrowing but worth the 12 hours of captivity that followed their arrest on July 12.

Isaac Barrera is an art major at PCC and member of the San Gabriel Valley Dream Team Alliance, an organization that supports SB 130 and 131, bills also known as the California Dream Act.

According to The Sacramento Bee, SB 130 would allow qualified undocumented college students to receive financial aid from private gifts and endowments.

At a news conference held at PCC on July 14, Barrera explained what led to the arrests.

“I had heard [that SBVC students] were being detained by campus police and asked for their IDs,” he said. “If they didn’t have [the IDs] they were turned over to the police.”

The police had been empowered by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE policy requires approved local and state police officers to provide ICE with information and fingerprints collected from illegal immigrants who have been arrested.

Students held a rally, march and then Barrera and six other undocumented students held a sit-in in the street in front of San Bernardino Valley College, Barrera said.

They were subsequently arrested for civil disobedience, he said.

Martha Vazquez, a fashion major at PCC, is also a member of the SGV Dream Team and the only female of the seven students arrested. She said she and the other six students had attended the rally to “come out” as undocumented immigrants.

“We wanted to show [other undocumented students] that it’s not OK to be in the shadows. [They need to] open up to others [because] we need to stand together,” she said.

When arrested, Vazquez was scared that she wouldn’t see her family again. During booking, however, she was calmed knowing she had the support of her mother, and several pro-immigrant rights organizations.

Jorge Herrera, a Los Angeles Harbor College student, described what happened after the students were arrested.

“[The police] took our information and we were transferred to the San Bernardino detention center,” Herrera said.

After that, they went through the booking process and the men were detained in the same cell. Vazquez was put in a women’s cell.

As for all the arrested students, Herrera said those arrested must appear in court on Sept. 13.

Ju Hong, a political science major at UC Berkley, drove from San Francisco to participate in the rally at SBVC.

“We were in jail for 12 hours. It was nerve-wracking,” Hong said.

Gov. Jerry Brown appears to be ready to approve half of the Dream Act, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Barrera said he doesn’t believe the students will be deported.

“We’re publicly out there,” he said.

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