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Undocumented Youth Staging Sit and Hunger Strike At The Obama Campaign Office in Denver to Demand Executive Order Has Triggered National Immigrant Youth Alliance to Take Actions Across The Nation

NIYA to Carry Out Actions of Civil Disobedience This Week at Obama Campaign Offices Nationwide

Denver- Campaign For an American DREAM has triggered The National  Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA) to activate its network to carry out acts of Civil Disobedience in Democratic campaign office across the country from now until the November elections. The Administration has thus far not responded to the demand of two undocumented youth whom have staged a sit in and hunger strike in the Obama for America offices in Denver on Broadway and 9th Avenue. The youth have been in the office since tuesday June 5th and are demanding an Executive Order to stop the deportations of undocumented youth eligible for the DREAM Act. Actions nationwide will begin this week after press conference at 5pm outside OFA 77 W. 9th Avenue.

“ We’ve been ignore in this state but we will be heard across the country, along with many undocumented youth, we will demand an action!” said Veronica Gomez, an undocumented student with Campaign for an American Dream (CAD), which is now on her seventh day without any eating. “The immigrant community nationally needs to know that we have a voice in this country, that we are not criminals, and we deserve a pathway to legalization.”

So far, Organizing for America has avoided discussing the executive order in their responses. Meanwhile, we are being deported. Last week, the American Immigration Lawyers Association released a statement declaring the policy  of prosecutorial discretion a “failure”. We have always been skeptical of the policy, and are now demanding something better.

“If they want the Latino vote in Colorado, they must show the community what they are doing for us. We are asking them to stop the deportation of all DREAM eligible youth!” said Javier Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant living in Colorado and CO-founder of  Colorado, Organize, Resist, Escalate (COORE).

Hugo Zarate, a young man from Denver who wants to enlist in the armed forces has been denied a request for deferred action, even thought he came here at a young age, is DREAM Act-eligible  and does not have a criminal record. Only the strength of an executive order will prevent deportations like his from moving forward.

We will not accept gridlock as an excuse for our deportations when the President can stop them with an executive order. We simply cannot be asked to support a President while we are being deported and our families live in fear.

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CAD’s mission is to walk across the nation from San Francisco to D.C creating dialogue around the passage of the DREAM Act and fixing our broken immigration system, with the values of equality, unity and diversity. CAD believe’s all people are equal, all those who are oppressed should be united, and our daily lives and the Campaign itself highlight diversify.

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