Sanders spokeswoman says forthcoming immigration plan shaped by DACA recipients


9/3/2019

The forthcoming immigration plan from Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is being shaped by three campaign staffers who are undocumented immigrants and recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to a campaign spokeswoman.

“We know that we can do better and I think that’s the greatest part of all is that we have people who are experiencing these struggles that are taking part in that plan,” Belén Sisa, who is also a DACA recipient, told Hill.TV on Tuesday.

She said the campaign expects to release its immigration plan “soon,” but did not specify a release date.

Sisa touted the campaign's efforts to recruit more volunteers and senior level staffers from the Latino community through outreach that includes webinars in Spanish for people who want to get involved but can’t speak English.

“It’s not just about ads, it’s not just about trying to knock on their door right before the primary,” she said. “It’s about putting people who look like them on the campaign, it’s about making them feel like they’re capable.”

A handful of Sanders’s fellow White House contenders have already released immigration plans.

Former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, the only Latino in the field of 20 Democratic candidates, released a plan in April that calls for providing so-called Dreamers —undocumented immigrants who brought to the U.S. illegally by their guardians — and other undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

Top-tier candidates, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Sanders, have voiced similar support for a pathway to citizenship.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, is slated to hear arguments in November on whether the Trump’s administration’s efforts to end DACA were lawful. The Obama-era program allows thousands of Dreamers to temporarily live and work in the U.S. without risk of deportation.

The Trump administration has maintained that its decision to rescind the program in 2017 was legal, arguing it was "legally questionable at best" and "illegal at worst."

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/45...aca-recipients