This afternoon, local organization Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson and allies held a protest at Congressman John Faso’s office in Kingston. The protest called on John Faso and Congress to pass a Clean Dream Act – permanent legislative protections for DACA recipients that do not include any funding for a border wall or immigration enforcement.
Organizers say around 50 people attended.
Today is the deadline Trump originally gave Congress to address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to decline the DACA case means the lower courts’ decision to temporarily block Trump from ending DACA stands. But speakers at the protest, including Dreamers, called for a long-term solution from Congress.
“They could deport me, they could deport everyone who had DACA. I’m afraid, I’ve been here since I was 4,” said Alan Castillo, a 28-year-old DACA recipient and member of Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson. “But I don’t want to be used as a bargaining chip to hurt my parents, I don’t want us to be a bargaining chip to build a wall. That’s not fair to us, or our parents. This is not just about 800,000 people. It’s about 11 million undocumented immigrants.”
“We’re going to keep fighting until we get a Clean Dream Act,” said Alfredo Pacheco, an Organizer for Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson and a formerly undocumented immigrant. “We reject the idea that there are ‘good’ immigrants and ‘bad’ immigrants. The immigrant rights movement is united in fighting for all undocumented people, and we’re only growing stronger.”
Stop dreaming. You’ve been here how many years and could apply for citizenship, but didn’t, why? Why didn’t you apply?
JP- This isn’t an option these days. My grandmother from Western Europe, came here and became a citizen no problem. Please educate yourself on the difficulties of becoming a citizen. For my mother a german immigrant it took lots of money and time- and she married an American.