About 30 immigration rights advocates and their supporters held a rally outside of the Democratic Party Headquarters on Monday. The group wants the party to endorse their demands on deportation policy.
Participants at the rally were most vocal about requests to expand deferred action and improve conditions in detention facilities for vulnerable detainees, including pregnant women, people with disabilities and transgender individuals.
Korina Iribe with the Arizona Dream Act Coalition said the rally was not meant to be a protest against the Democratic Party.
"This is not about rhetoric now, it’s about action," Iribe said. "It’s about being the face of the community. If they want us to vote then they need to give us a party to vote for."
DJ Quinlan is the executive director of the Arizona Democratic party. He said the party has always supported comprehensive immigration reform.
"I think the real frustration right now is that Congress has failed to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill," Quinlan said. "It passed the Senate with 67 bipartisan votes but it cannot get even a vote in the house of representatives."
Quinlan added that he was receptive to the group’s visit but says it’s too early to comment directly on their demands.