“Dreamer Riders” Head to D.C. to Push for Immigrant Rights
Immigrant rights advocates from Alabama and around the country headed to Washington, D.C. Tuesday to urge the U.S. Senate to come up with a way to preserve anti-deportation protections from the Obama-era DACA program. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protects immigrants brought illegally as children to the U.S. so they can work or go to school. The Trump administration has said it will end DACA.
Fernanda Herrera-Vera calls herself “DACA-mented.” He father crossed the Mexican border illegally when she was two. She flew in with her mom months later on visas long since expired. DACA protects her from deportation, at least for now.
“I have 366 days left on my permit,” she says. “I graduated from college in May, and I’m in limbo right now. I could take a job, but I won’t be able to sign on for more than a year.”
The Samford University graduate says her problems are small next to those of people with mortgages and children. Tuesday morning she waited at the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice office in Irondale, ready to board a van to Washington, D.C. with about two dozen other Alabama immigrant advocates. Herrera-Vera plans to march to send a message to the Senate on Wednesday: protect DACA recipients from deportation, and fix a system where millions of people are undocumented.
“It’s people from all different walks of life and different ideologies that are coming together for this common purpose,” she says, “getting the DREAM Act passed, and beyond that, getting some reform” for the estimated 11 million undocumented people in the U.S.
Most of the “Dreamer Riders” in the two-van caravan don’t have DACA status themselves. There are family members and supporters traveling too. Alma Juarez has two children who are DACA recipients, often called “Dreamers.” She speaks though an ACIJ interpreter:
“DACA has been the way that we have been able to provide them some benefits like the right to study, the right to work, a driver’s license. We have to support and make our voices heard for our children.”
Some Senate Democrats have said they’ll shut down the government rather than let DACA recipients risk deportation. Senate Democratic leaders say they’re planning to meet at the White House on Thursday to try for a deal to pass the DREAM Act, which would allow DACA recipients to stay in the country. Republicans want stiffer border security measures, but some GOP members in the House are urging Speaker Paul Ryan to take action to protect DACA recipients before the end of the year.
Stressed at work over the election? 3 ways to minimize political tension on the job
Political disagreements have sent workplace incivility to an all-time high this year, costing employers some $2 billion per day in lost productivity. Here’s how to cut down on watercooler fights over today’s election – and its aftermath.
Here’s how NPR will report the 2024 election results
NPR relies on results and race calls from The Associated Press for presidential races, other federal elections and statewide contests.
Lucas & Arthur Jussen release ‘little diamonds’ EP of lesser-known piano duets
NPR's A Martínez speaks with Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen about their new EP, Rêve, featuring piano duets by lesser-known composers influenced by — or rejecting — French Impressionism.
Figures and Dobson are in a heated battle for a redrawn Alabama House district
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama voters will decide who will represent a congressional district that was redrawn after a lengthy legal battle that drew national attention and could provide a rare opportunity for Democrats to flip a seat in the Deep South. Democrat Shomari Figures, a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, […]
A wild election is coming to a close — and no one is sure how it will end
From candidate swaps to assassination attempts, the final months of the campaign has been a whirlwind. Here's why the outcome is so consequential.
Trump and allies have primed supporters to falsely believe he has no chance of losing
Many of former President Donald Trump’s supporters don’t believe he lost in 2020. Despite a close race again in 2024, Trump and allies still falsely claim the only way he loses is because of cheating.
