A demonstration to peacefully protest President Donald Trump’s policies on deportations of undocumented immigrants will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at the intersection between Gene’s Pawn Shop and CVS in Cornelia.
Cornelia resident and University of North Georgia student Catie Long, 24, said she organized the rally alongside a few other individuals to “march against hate on people who made America what it is today.”
“These are the people who built the buildings we live in and participate in the large agriculture industry we utilize every day,” Long said. “We want to remind people that immigrants are human. Not all immigrants are criminal, and families shouldn’t be separated in places like schools – where they should be focused on education.”
Long, an international affairs major in her junior year at UNG, said the rally is intended to “demonstrate support within the community that will continue to grow and be here.”
“Many of us are citizens of the United States,” she said. “We are patriots of this country…we want to promote ideologies of unity – that is our main goal: To stick together for one another in times when a lot of people are fearing for their lives.”
Long, the daughter of a mother born in Mexico and a father who has long been a Habersham resident, said her great-grandfather built the Marathon gas station located near the site of Saturday’s demonstration.
“We have some roots here in Habersham,” she said, adding that she expects around 50 people to turn out for the rally.
“We need to forget an ideology that immigrants are other people,” Long said. “The reality is that the only people who are not immigrants to this country are the native Americans. We need to stand together to create policies that support the growth of our country and the people who built it.”
Rules to follow
Long said participants in the rally should be prepared to follow all rules to comply with Cornelia city ordinances:
- No offensive language (this includes posters, clothes and sayings)
- No blocking traffic or crossings
Parking
Parking is available at:
- Raspas El Tigre
- Big Red Apple Public Parking
- In front of Sugartopia
- Library
