Francisco Diaz has been living in the United States for 14 years now, but is still considered by the law to be an illegal immigrant despite the fact that he has been married to a US citizen for the last two years. For this reason, Diaz has made the decision to start pedaling for immigration reform.
On March 2nd Diaz left his home in Homestead, Florida with the intention of cycling to Washington DC in the hope of meeting with President Barack Obama. “This is why I have this pencil for the President,” Diaz explains, “because he can sign the power to stop and end deportation.” On Monday Diaz encountered a group of cyclists from Warner Robins who believe they deserve to be given US citizenship if they have lived and worked in the country for many years.
Among that particular group is Jose Luis, a legal resident who is employed in the construction industry. He says that Diaz has taught them a lot: “We get more support from him and he gives us more power to show us something like, he always says if he can do it everybody can do it.”
Diaz and his group have spoken to Donovan Head, a representative for Congressman Austin Scott, who Diaz says received them very nicely. Diaz says he hopes his ride will bring attention back to immigration because of the fact that undocumented immigrants cost taxpayers more money than those who are allowed to legally work and pay taxes in the country.