Immigration 'Dreamers' train sights on D.C.
BY CASEY WOODS
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com
For Julio Neira, the journey from his childhood as a circus performer in Chile to American citizen and activist has been long and storied.

Neira is now adding another leg to that trip -- this one by train -- as part of a nationwide push by immigrants and advocates to bring the stalled debate on immigration law reform back to what they say matters: the hopes that drew millions of people to the United States.

''I am part of this trip because my duty is to help those immigrants like me work hard and whose status is uncertain,'' said Neira, 58, who became a citizen last year. 'I am uniting with these `Dreamers' because it's my way to honor the history of this country as a nation of immigrants.''

The ''Dreams Across America'' tour will bring 100 immigrants from cities that include Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Antonio to the nation's capital next week to try yet again to revive immigration law reform.

The 13 Miami participants leave from the Miami Amtrak station today, with another 150 local immigrants and advocates making the journey by bus.

The tour serves to push ''the national leadership to get some guts and get some courage and to fix this broken system in a humane, comprehensive and fair way,'' said Monica Russo, president of the SEIU Florida Healthcare Union, one of the organizations backing the tour.

Senate leaders yanked a broad compromise immigration bill last week after bitter partisan differences on sensitive areas such as border security and a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants scuttled a vote.

The repeated failure of legislation has immigrants and advocates struggling to remain optimistic.

''I think from a political standpoint it's unlikely they will pass anything, but you always have hope,'' said Abby Hernandez-Andino, 17, who is also riding the train to the capital. ``We've been fighting for so long.''

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