President Barack Obama recently announced he would not take executive action on immigration until after the November elections.

This statement has not sat well with immigration advocates.

Today, September 17, Juntos community members from Philadelphia and Norristown gathered outside of the Philadelphia ICE office to call on President Obama to meet with leaders of the undocumented community and to take executive action.

Community members spoke about how they and their families are affected by his lack of action on immigration.

Like countless others, these community members are experiencing the threat of deportations. Some have had to pick up second jobs to help support their families after losing someone to deportation.

“I have three children who suffer from asthma. After this ordeal of my husband being detained, my children are also suffering from psychological issues and trauma,” Maritza Guzman of Norristown said.

Others demanded to be treated equally because of their role in the country.

“You can’t talk about immigration without speaking to immigrants,” Olivia Ponce of Philadelphia said. “We’re not here asking. We’re here demanding because the work of myself, the work of all the communities across the country that have put back into this country, have supported this country, and have added to the growth of this country.”