View the original Buzzfeed Community post here.

Yesterday, 104 women were arrested for blockading the intersection outside the House of Representatives to protest their inaction on immigration reform that treats women and children fairly. Many of these women are undocumented and could face deportation for their brave action today. Why would anyone risk so much?

These women are mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters fighting to keep their families together. Here is why they fight, in their own words.

1. For families and children

And for great leggings.

2. To get Congress to stand up

3. For our communities

4. To stand with our sisters

5. To stop family separation

6. For all women of color

7. For those who have been exploited

8. Out of love

This woman is fighting for the father of her children, who is currently in deportation proceedings. In her own words, she was arrested today “because all our families deserve to breath free and not worry about whether we will lose each other.”

9. For those who’ve struggled

75-year-old Luz comes from extreme poverty in rural Mexico. Though she was sponsored to come to the United States by her daughter more than a decade ago, our broken immigration system has kept her family separated for most of her life. Her other children in Mexico have been waiting 17 years to be reunited with her to no avail.

10. For those who are risking far more

Via tv.msnbc.com

25-year-old Cecilia was arrested today beside her grandmother. Both of Cecilia’s parents were once undocumented. “In one generation we have reached the American Dream,” Cecilia said. “My parents never went to middle school while my siblings have graduated from grad school…This is what legalization does.”

For more powerful words from the women who were arrested at today’s action, visit 100 Women.