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Iowa Dreamers Host Forum and Come Out As Undocumented
Watch the video Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a town hall meeting on immigration reform at Ames Middle School. Participants included Iowans from the business, union, and faith sectors as well children who were brought into the U.S. illegally, who are also known as “dreamers.” -
Group discusses undocumented students hurdles in attending college
Read the full article Kenia Calderon has a dream to make colleges more diverse and help more undocumented students receive an education. Uprising Dreamers awareness was an important topic at the Discuss with Dreamers event Jan. 27. Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc. collaborated with Mexican American Young Achievers Society — MAYAS — and A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy — AMOS -
Iowa Advocates Demonstrate Outside Paul Ryan Fundraiser
Read the full article On Friday, Paul Ryan came to Cedar, Iowa to headline the state Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Dinner — an event that prominently billed Steve King as an invitee even though he supposedly declined his invitation weeks ago. Ryan, who is known for speaking very sympathetically about immigration reform, was fortunate to have dodged the specter of appearing together with Ki -
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Iowa Dreamers Host a Second anniversary for DAPA
On the second anneversary of DACA, Iowa DREAMers gathered in Storm Lake, Iowa to celebrate. -
DREAMers Erika Andiola & Cesar Vargas confront Steve King in Okoboji, Iowa for trying to end DACA.
Watch the video Where does Rand Paul Stand on Immigration? At a fundraiser with Rand Paul in Okoboji, Iowa, DREAMers Erika Andiola & Cesar Vargas confront Steve King for trying to end DACA. Rand Paul runs away when Erika says she's a DREAMer. -
Now-grown Waterloo childhood immigrant takes on Rep. King
Read the full article WATERLOO | Monica Reyes’ mother held onto every memento of her daughter’s achievements over the years. Especially anything with a clear location or date on it. A mother’s pride, in part. But the documents -- squirreled away in a suitcase -- also had a specific purpose, serving both as hope and as evidence. -
DREAMers Ask Hillary Clinton About Barack Obama's Immigration Executive Action Delay
Read the full article Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DREAMers, confronted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the immigration system and President Barack Obama's decision to delay an executive action.
During a 94-second video, DREAM Iowa's Monica Reyes and DRM Action Coalition's Cesar Vargas and Erika Andiola asked Clinton about the inaction on immigration by Congress and Obama. -
MSNBC Host Defends Hillary from Disappointed DREAMer
Read the full article This weekend, Hillary Clinton traveled to Iowa where she fried some steaks and teased her presidential ambitions. She also came face-to-face with some Iowa DREAMers, undocumented immigrants who demanded to know what she would be doing to fix America’s broken immigration system. -
Dreamers Demand Immigration Answers From Hillary Clinton In Iowa
Read the full article Likely presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had a confrontation with Dreamers on Sunday that seemed to capture the Democrats' increasingly awkward relationship with Latinos in miniature. The activists caught up with Clinton in Iowa at a public fundraising event. There, they asked the former Secretary of State whether she supported President Barack Obama's recent decision to -
Waterloo woman quizzes Clinton, Sanders on immigration
Read the full article WATERLOO | Monica Reyes of Waterloo drove more than two hours to Indianola and waited more than six hours to ask former U.S. secretary of state and potential 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton one question. -
Immigration Supporters in Iowa Confront Biden About the DAPA Delay
Watch the video At a campaign stop in Iowa, immigration advocates ask Vice President Joe Biden if he supports the delay of DAPA. -
Ahead of 2016, Immigration Activists Want Answers From Clinton
Read the full article CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hillary Rodham Clinton had just finished telling the crowd that North Carolina families could count on Senator Kay Hagan when the chants of Oliver Merino — a 25-year-old whose mother, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, faces deportation — grew louder. -
Immigration reform supporters cheer on president in Waterloo
Read the full article WATERLOO | President Barack Obama hit the right notes for the area families and friends affected by the executive action he announced to the nation Thursday night expanding deportation protections to an estimated 5 million more people who came to this country illegally. -
Dreamers tell GOP presidential hopefuls to stop deportations
Illegal immigrants who gained tentative legal status under President Obama’s 2012 amnesty for so-called Dreamers have issued a challenge to would-be 2016 GOP presidential candidates, demanding to know whether the Republicans would deport the Dreamers and their parents. With former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s announcement Tuesday that he is actively exploring a presidential bid, the Dreamers said it’s time for him — and the rest of the field — to say whether they would cancel Mr. Obama’s amnesty. -
Drake student helps motivate fellow 'dreamers'
Drake student helps motivate fellow 'dreamers' Kenia Alejandra Calderon often thinks about what her life would be like if she still lived in El Salvador. The 21-year-old Des Moines woman doesn't know what she would be doing or where her family would be living. She doesn't even know if all of her family members would still be alive. -
Iowa Hispanics to GOP: Stay away from amnesty foe Steve King
Read the full article DES MOINES, Iowa — As GOP presidential hopefuls descend on Iowa this weekend, immigrant rights advocates have a warning for them: Stay away from Rep. Steve King if you want to have a chance at winning Hispanic votes. -
Immigration Protesters Interrupt Rick Perry
Read the full article DES MOINES, Iowa—The 13 protesters had arrived at the start of the Iowa Freedom Summit, and waited until the right moment came to challenge Republicans. To some surprise, they waited most of the day, even as several Republicans including Iowa Representative Steve King talked in general terms about immigration.
Most of them finally leapt up when former Texas Gove -
'Freedom Summit' Kicks off 2016 for GOP
Read the full article The Iowa caucuses are still more than a year away, but last night a parade of potential 2016 presidential candidates appeared in Des Moines Saturday. The all-day event was hosted by Citizens United and Iowa’s Republican Congressman Steve King who opened up the event at Hoyt Sherman Place - a small theater in Des Moines. -
DREAM Iowa Confronts Jeb Bush about His Opposition to DAPA
Watch the video Monica Reyes of DREAM Iowa asks Jeb Bush about his opposition to DAPA and DACA. -
Jeb says Obama’s immigration moves are like a Latin American dictator’s
Read the full article Jeb Bush thinks President Obama overstepped his authority when he extended deportation relief to an estimated five million people in November — and now he’s comparing the president to autocrats like Fidel Castro. Bush, speaking a private event in Iowa on Saturday, was confronted by an activist who asked if he would overturn the president’s relief programs. -
Hillary Clinton’s Immigration Policy Could Be Very Different From Obama’s. Here’s How.
Read the full article Speaking at a round table with individuals personally affected by the immigration system at Rancho High School in Nevada, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for granting “full and equal citizenship” to undocumented immigrants; extending an existing executive action that provides deportation protections to so-called DREAMers, or undocumented immigrants, giving legal representation to immigrants in immigration court; and reforming immigration enforcement and detention pra -
DREAMer asks: What happened to the party of Lincoln?
Read the full article I, like many Iowans, hate politics. I can't stand it when the dreams of people get trampled by petty political party infighting — especially when those dreams belong to my family, friends, and myself. My family had been dreaming of May 19 our whole lives. For over two decades, we have been hiding in the shadows and Tuesday was the day th -
Gov. Jeb Bush Responds to Question About Pastor Max's Deportation
Watch the video Friends of Pastor Max ask Jeb Bush about immigration reform while at a campaign stop in Iowa. -
Advocates Confront Kasich on DAPA
Watch the video Ohio's Voice Travels to Iowa to Ask John Kasich About The Ohio Lawsuit Against DAPA and DACA+ -
Iowa Dreamers talk to Lindsey Graham
Watch the video Members of Immigrant Allies of Marshalltown and Friends of Pastor Max talk to Senator Lindsey Graham about his support for immigration reform. -
Scott Walker is Confronted About His Opposition to DAPA
Watch the video A Wisconsin family travels to Iowa to confront Scott Walker about his opposition to DAPA and DACA. -
Iowa DREAMer panel convenes at library
Read the full article At "Every DREAMer Has a Story", a Marshalltown Public Library event Friday evening, six DREAMers who live in Iowa told stories of their lives and struggles in the United States. Along with panel stories and discussion, there was a mini-documentary, produced by Monica Reyes, one of the panelists. The film showed six DREAMers, some of whom attended Friday's event, and gave a brief synopsis of their lives. The panel spoke after the film. -
Meet the DREAMers confronting presidential candidates
Read the full article In one video, Monica Reyes puts her arm around Jeb Bush and peers up at him. She asks in Spanish about his thoughts on DACA, a policy that grants young immigrants like Reyes temporary stay in the United States. Bush replies in Spanish,"DACA is … which one is DACA?" -
Groups Blast Radio Host Suggesting 'Enslaving' Undocumented Immigrants
Read the full article Several groups have blasted a conservative radio talk show host in Iowa who suggested undocumented immigrants should be turned into "property of the state" and be forced into "compelled labor," such as building a wall along the United States-Mexico border. Doing so, he believes, will drive undocumented immigrants out of Iowa. "Put up a sign that says at the end of 60 days, if you are not here with our permission, can't prove your legal status, you become property of the state," Jan Mickelson -
Hillary Clinton's Blunt View of Social Progress
Read the full article Hillary Clinton answered this question in the course of her quasi-private meeting with activists from the Black Lives Matter movement, and she came down firmly on the side of the latter. “I don’t believe you change hearts,” Clinton told Julius Jones in an candid moment backstage after a campaign event. “I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not -
A forum to unite, not radicalize immigration debate
Read the full article Apparently I chose the perfect time to help launch a civil, nonpartisan immigration forum. More than ever it seems like we desperately need a sane space to hash out these issues. For a nation built by immigrants, this cuts to our core identity. That's why I'm involved in #UniteIowa on Immigration, Aug. 29 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. We'll meet in one of the towns in the state that has been most transformed in the last generation by waves of new Iowans. -
'DREAMer' to speak at SL forum
Read the full article Monica Reyes of DREAM Iowa is joining presidential candidates and community leaders as speakers at the landmark #UniteIowa Immigration Forum in Storm Lake Saturday, August, 29th.
The event is bringing together community leaders from across Iowa for a historic conversation about immigration reform in the state. Journalist Kyle Munson describes the event as "an oasis for thoughtful dialogu -
Unite Iowa on Immigration
Read the full article STORM LAKE - Leaders from Iowa's immigrant, business, educational, faith, labor and political communities were front and center and on stage Saturday at Buena Vista University during a non-partisan discussion about immigration - a political hot button issue some dare not tread. But the panel was undaunted, hitting the subject head on. All agreed the system was broken. -
400 gather for #UniteIowa immigration forum
Read the full article A panel of Iowans that included a Republican activist, a CEO and a Presbyterian pastor gathered on a Storm Lake stage, all agreeing on only one point: The immigration system in America is failing. -
Life on the edge: A DREAMer’s story of immigration
Read the full story Reyes served as the youngest member of a citizen panel at
Buena Vista University at the #UniteIowa Forum on Immigration, Saturday, August 29. The goal of the panel was to offer varying political and social perspectives on the issue of immigration, but also to engage in a civil conversation, a characteristic sorely lacking on the national political scene, according to forum organizer, Des Moines Register columnist, Kyle Munson. -
Trump Supporters Harass Immigration Protesters In Iowa
Read the full article A group of Donald Trump supporters erupted in cheers and shouted racist comments outside an Iowa college stadium on Saturday when a woman tore the sign an anti-Trump demonstrator was holding in half. A group calling themselves Students Against Bigotry staged a protest in the parking lot of Iowa State University's Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday during tailgating for the ISU-University of Iowa football game. Golf course aficionado and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald -
Donald Trump says Latinos love him. But there are plenty of bashers, too.
Read the full article SAN ANTONIO - Donald Trump says Latinos love him. But there are plenty of bashers, too. In South Texas, that's literally true.
As Trump's poll numbers go up heading into next week's Republican presidential debate on CNN, so does the demand for custom-made piñatas depicting "The Donald."
The debate falls on Diez y Seis (Sept. 16), which is Mexico's Indep -
Trump Supporters Harass Immigration Protesters In Iowa
Read the full story The ISU students were specifically protesting Trump's anti-immigrant comments, the Iowa State Daily reported. The poster that was destroyed, held by ISU senior Jovani Rubio, read, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." -
DREAMer Activists Plan To Keep Confronting Hillary Clinton On Immigration
Read the full article On the rope line at an event in Iowa last Sunday, three undocumented activists waited to ask Hillary Clinton about the delay of executive actions on immigration. Clinton flashed the group a thumbs up. But when the activists pressed her on the question, Clinton said, “I think we have to elect more Democrats,” then kept moving. -
Bernie Sanders highlights need for better education during Des Moines stop
Read the full article DES MOINES, Iowa — Clapping, cheering and chanting filled the air as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was back in the state this weekend trying to win the Iowa vote. In a small, white tent on the Walnut Street Bridge overlooking the Des Moines River, a crowd of about 100 people listened to Sanders. -
‘I underestimated’ racism on campus
Read the full article A 27-year-old Latina Iowa State University graduate student said these were just some of the taunts that greeted her and other political protesters outside the Cy-Hawk football game earlier this month in Ames. Maria Alcivar, the student and a representative of the League of United Latin American Citizens, joined other activists in challenging Donald Trump’s comments on immigration during the GOP front-runner’s visit to the annual cross-state gridiron rivalry Sept. 12. -
Trump talks taxes, trade and immigration in Waterloo
Read the full article WATERLOO, Iowa — Touting a self-funded political campaign, his efforts to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and his disdain for the current state of U.S. foreign policy, Trump was met with shouts of support and demonstrations of protest at an event in Waterloo Wednesday. At least part of this rift, for Trump, is due to his abstention from “political speak,” which he defined as a weak tone via digs against Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. Trump compared his “strong tone” to that of Winston Ch -
Is Donald Trump’s stumble in polls his downfall in Iowa? Probably not
Read the full article It hasn’t exactly been an Iowa Nice week for Donald Trump.
After months of riding high in Iowa polls, Trump lost his front-runner status in the state last week, followed by a stupid retweet — a HUGE mistake — that slammed Iowans as well as their iconic cornfields.
Now a band of opponents plans to protest Trump’s scheduled town hall meeting in Sioux City on Tuesday, arguing that the man who once called illegal immigrants “rapists” and “criminals” should not be allowed to speak at a public schoo -
Group plans protest at Trump campaign event at Sioux City school
<a href='SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Two people from the Sioux City metro area said they expect a large number of protesters to greet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he arrives Tuesday at West High School."We are getting a lot of community support," said Ismael Valadez, who tried with his nephew Francisco Valadez to get the campaign rally moved elsewhere.' >Read the full article</a> SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Two people from the Sioux City metro area said they expect a large number of protesters to greet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he arrives Tuesday at West High School. "We are getting a lot of community support," said Ismael Valadez, who tried with his nephew Francisco Valadez to get the campaign rally moved elsewhere. -
About 650 protest Trump visit to West High in Sioux City
Read the full article SIOUX CITY | Tania Espinoza, a 2010 graduate of West High School, said she didn’t follow national politics until she heard GOP hopeful Donald Trump talk about women and Latinos. The 24-year-old was among about 650 people who silently protested Tuesday outside West High, where Trump held a campaign rally, on the basis that Trump has made hostile statements about immigrants. “It’s very unnecessary and caught the attention of many people,” Espinoza said of Trump’s comments. -
Students protest Donald Trump rally in Iowa
Read the full article SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Minority students and a group of community members here are protesting Donald Trump's rally at West High School on Tuesday because they object to his rhetoric. "Donald Trump promotes bullying and hatred more than he does politics in our school. That has created a hard division line in our student body. It is very tense and uncomfortable at our school," said Takkia Frazier, a 15-year-old sophomore at West High. Frazier is Native American but she spends most of her time with -
National organization wants Latinos at Iowa Caucuses
Read the full article A national Latino organization is focusing on getting Iowa Latino voters to the Iowa Caucuses with the goal of bringing more representation to the unique needs of the community. The League of United Latin American Citizens, along with its central Iowa council, is conducting its first-ever statewide caucus outreach and education campaign in the state with a goal of getting 10,000 to 20,000 Iowa Latinos to vote. LULAC is funneling $300,000 into the state for advertisements and campaign efforts -
Latino outreach leader encourages caucusing, voting
Read the full article Getting Latinos to caucus and vote in local, state and national elections was the focus of a discussion that took place in 101 Carver Hall on Saturday afternoon. Cesar Vargas, who leads Latino outreach for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign in Iowa, was the main speaker at the discussion, which drew an attendance of 32 people. “I wa -
Presidential candidates forming their immigration policies
Read the full article How should the U.S. prevent immigrants from entering the country illegally? Should children born in the United States of unauthorized immigrant parents be considered U.S. citizens? What should become of the more than 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States? Should they be allowed to earn legal status or citizenship, or should they be sent back to their home countries? These are among the questions on immigration policy that presidential candidates of both political pa -
Guest column: Change
Read the full article Change! Let me start with a little 411 on Latinos United for Change. Primero, LUCHA, formally known as Students Against Bigotry, formed out of Latino students and allies at Iowa State, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, Drake University and DREAM Iowa mobilizing to host a demonstration at the CyHawk game where Republican candidates were scheduled to appear. At this time, all of us present stood united against the hateful rhetoric emitted by Republicans during our curren -
Iowa Dems host armchair discussion on minorities preceding forum
Read the full story Hector Salamanca Arroyo, the advocacy chair for DREAM IOWA, said some Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump have “stoked a fire” in the sentiments of people with their rhetoric regarding minorities. -
Latinos en Iowa exigen una denuncia “rotunda” de los precandidatos presidenciales demócratas contra las redadas
Read the full article ctivistas de la pequeña pero creciente comunidad latina en Iowa afirmaron que esperan que los precandidatos presidenciales demócratas ofrezcan esta noche en Des Moines una denuncia “rotunda” contra las redadas, y advirtieron de que los políticos ganarán el apoyo latino con algo más que “discursos bonitos”. Los tres precandidatos presidenciales demócratas, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, y Martin O´Malley participarán esta noche en el “Brown and Black Forum”, una tradición que data de 1984 y -
Democrats address minority issues at forum
Read the full article DES MOINES -- Hillary Clinton declined to pledge that as president she would not deport children brought to the U.S. illegally. And Bernie Sanders defended his 2005 vote in support of legislation that protected gun sellers from lawsuits brought forth from shootings. The frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for president were -
DREAM Iowa mock caucus
Read the full article Young Latino and Latina Iowans participate in an event organized by DREAM Iowa to encourage young Latino and Latina Iowans to participate in the caucuses and Iowa's political process on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2015, at Grand View University in Des Moines. -
Tangled politics of immigration gets personal in Iowa
Read this full article STORM LAKE, Ia. — Ofelia Valdez raised her hand among the several hundred people swarmed around the fireplace in the lobby of King’s Pointe Resort and confronted Ted Cruz, the Texas senator vying with billionaire Donald Trump atop polls to win the Iowa Republican caucuses. -
The ‘Dreamers’: They Anger The GOP And Power Democratic Campaigns
Read the full article LOS ANGELES — When he’s not at school, 18-year-old Pedro Duran often can be found dialing voters from the threadbare Las Vegas campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Or he might be handing out Sanders buttons at a nearby Latino grocery store, or promoting Sanders to members of his extended family. -
We Talked to 9 Undocumented Iowans, and They All Seem to Like This One Candidate
Read the full story Immigration proposals have been mentioned at every single debate this election season, but absent from the conversation are the actual immigrants who would be directly impacted by reforms. -
O’Malley consigue apoyo de cofundadoras de grupo de “DREAMers” en Iowa
Read the full article WASHINGTON.- El exgobernador de Maryland, Martin O’Malley, confía en que los ocho meses que lleva en la contienda surtirán efecto la próxima semana en las “asambleas populares” en Iowa, donde este martes consiguió el apoyo de las dos co-fundadoras del influyente grupo “DREAM Iowa”. -
Dream Iowa activists support O'Malley
Read the full article Co-founders Monica Reyes and Nilvia Reyes Brownson announced Tuesday they are supporting O’Malley’s campaign. -
What Hillary Clinton is missing about Latino voters
Read the full article Hillary Clinton’s path to the presidency had a clear trajectory from the beginning: Secure the Latino vote early and where it counts. Clinton quickly hit battleground states where Latinos pack a hard punch. She stacked her team with a diverse group of leaders, which, in a deeply symbolic gesture, included a once-undocumented DREAMer. Her platform on immigration was the most progressive approach the nation had seen yet. -
The Push For 10,000 Latino Voters At The Iowa Caucuses
Read the full article DES MOINES, Iowa — On Saturday at noon, several dozen Latino voters will fill the Mary J. Treglia Community House in Sioux City for a mock caucus ahead of Monday’s statewide vote. They will be greeted by a registration table, representatives from the Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders campaigns, and 33-year-old Christian Ucles, the political -
Matt Hildreth: Iowa aún importa
Read the full article En enero pasado escribí que extremistas en inmigración como el congresista Steve King (R-IA) estaban convirtiendo los caucuses republicanos de Iowa en irrelevantes. Bueno, de algún modo estaba equivocado, La demografía (sin mencionar la ideología conservadora) de los que acuden al caucus republicano de Iowa dificulta a los candidatos de ese partido ganar, tanto el caucus de Iowa como en la elección general. -
“Dreamer” mexicano moviliza a miles de latinos para votar en Iowa
Read the full article WASHINGTON.- Desafiando las temperaturas bajo cero en Iowa, el “Dreamer” mexicano Héctor Salamanca ha pregonado en los pueblos y barrios la “revolución política” de Bernie Sanders y, además de ser el primer co-capitán latino del distrito electoral número 70 en Iowa, ha ayudado a movilizar a unos 10,000 latinos para las “asambleas populares” de esta noche en -
Iowa proves hard place for immigration reform message
Read the full article When a group of Latino students held a peaceful demonstration amid the barbecue and bands at the Iowa-Iowa State football game tailgate in September, things quickly turned ugly. With chants and handmade placards, Students Against Bigotry was protesting Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s arrival on the ISU campus. A short video posted to YouTube shows a young woman approach the group outside Jack Trice Stadium. -
Group plans protest at Trump campaign event at Sioux City School
Read the full story SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Two people from the Sioux City metro area said they expect a large number of protesters to greet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he arrives Tuesday at West High School. "We are getting a lot of community support," said Ismael Valadez, who tried with his nephew Francisco Valadez to get the campaign rally moved elsewhere.
