Posted on 09/14/2018 5:09:36 PM PDT by ro_dreaming
When people go to vote in midterm elections this November, they may be thinking about any number of serious issues. In Texas, polling data suggest both immigration and border security are priorities for voters.
One group of Houstons most motivated activists are hoping voters care enough to show up to the polls in support of immigrant issues. Their future in this country could depend on it.
Whether its knocking on doors, making calls or registering voters on campus, Houston youth are taking action.
Across the country, and here in Houston, we have not seen youth involvement at this level since immigrant youth won DACA in 2012, said Julieta Garibay, co-director of United We Dream, a non-profit group that advocates for DACA-recipients.
One of those politically active youth is Franklin Henriquez, a 23-old junior at the University of Houston. He just switched his major to political science after initially pursuing what he considers more pragmatic degree paths.
People would say Engineering! Do engineering! Thats where the moneys at,' said Hernandez.
Henriquez said hes much happier in his current degree plan. Hed like to work somewhere like the ACLU some day. But for now, hes got a lot on his plate with two jobs, school, helping care for his little sister and volunteer work.
I volunteer also for United We Dream and recently Ive been involved with Harris County Civic Engagement, said Henriquez.
Hes part of a youth task force thats joining a new coalition of organizations to boost voter turnout, even though he himself cannot vote.
Im also a DACA-recipient, said Hernandez.
Like 11 million U.S. residents (1.6 million of which live in Texas), Henriquez is undocumented.
His mom brought him to Houston from El Salvador when he was eight years-old. They stayed. Even though Houston was safer and had more opportunities, growing up undocumented meant uncertainty.
I was trying to get good grades, involve myself in school trying to seem like the exemplary student to hopefully get a better education at a higher institution, said Henriquez. But in the back of my mind, because of my status, (I thought) its all gonna be in vain.
Besides the threat of deportation, Henriquez didnt have a drivers license or a social security number things that make getting scholarships, working and enrolling in college possible.
Then, in 2012, President Obama created DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), offering protections for children brought to the United States during a certain time frame. That announcement changed Henriquez life.
Not only did it protect Dreamers like Henriquez from deportation, but it also gave them the chance to get the documentation they needed to apply for college and scholarships.
It was like a relief. I was really happy, I was really excited. My mother was crying. She was happy about it, too, said Henriquez.
But that happiness is now on pause. The future of DACA is murky. After being rescinded by the Trump administration last September, courts have ruled to keep DACA renewals going for now.
However, no new applications are being accepted. Many experts believe the Supreme Court will end up making the final decision on the programs legality as a number of DACA-related suits are making their way through federal courts.
A real fix for the DACA program could come from Congress, which has yet to pass any legislation protecting Dreamers and is unlikely to do it before midterms.
Rescinding DACA was frustration, disappointment, anger, sadness, a lot of worry, said Henriquez. But also it motivated me. It started a spark inside me to do something about it.
At a co-working space in Houstons East End, 10 or so community organizers, including Henriquez, gather around a white table and discuss plans to register voters at local high schools.
Representatives from groups like Mi Familia Vota, an organization that registers Latino voters, are at the table.
Henriquez is there to speak not only on behalf of Dreamers and young people, but also immigrants legal and otherwise. Many of whom, like him, cant vote, but call Houston home.
His hope is theyll recruit allies who can vote this November.
Chasing the young Latino vote
Nationwide polling suggests Latinos in battleground districts (TX-7, TX-23, TX-32, TX-32) feel strongly about immigration-related issues, especially in light of the governments child separation policy and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Though the Latino vote historically underwhelms in Texas, targeting youth could be a winning strategy in the long-term, considering demographic shifts.
Forty four percent of eligible Latino voters are millennials, so that basically means that if young people are not voting, then the Latino vote is not present, said Carlos Duarte, Texas State Director for Mi Familia Vota.
The group is pursuing millennials as a key aspect of their registration efforts. They consider them an essential segment of the 4.8 million eligible Latino voters in the state.
Mi Familia Vota reached 450,000 registrations nationwide last month. Theyll continue to register Latino voters before the October 9 deadline. Part of their efforts involves working with 30 or so Houston-area schools to educate and register students.
In Harris County in particular, demographic shifts are also affecting the electorate. Whites are no longer the majority of registered voters, according to voter registration data. An increasing number of the countys Latino residents are registering to vote, while older white voters are dying off.
Primary elections in Harris County also showed the number of Latino voters who cast their ballot more than doubled compared to the 2014 primary. Experts have attributed this spike in participation to an increasingly polarized political climate, especially around the immigration debate, and strong Latino candidates.
Forty-five percent of Hispanic voters are millennials. We will lose our borders, as we've lost out language, and culture.
The DREAM Act never passed Congress, thats where the moniker comes from.
Obama made up DACA out of thin air instead.
It has no basis in law.
It is in fact illegal.
It should have been stopped before it got started, but the GOP refused to stop him, because they wanted amnesty anyway they could get it.
Dreamers are citizens of other countries illegally in our country like every other illegal alien.
They are Guatemalan, Mexican, Honduran, El Salvadoran, etc. but they are NOT Americans.
They could have been if their parents had applied for immigration, but they broke in instead.
“If there’s any doubt as to how important it is to get out and vote, there it is. “
You summed it up perfectly.
Good luck with that, mojados-I can tell you about one Tejano Latino family who doesn’t have a single member who will vote for a democrat who is anti-border enforcement and pro illegal alien-that is my family. There are plenty more people like us, too-all over Texas and New Mexico...
These people sound to me as foreigners attempting to influence American elections. Round them up and ship them out.
If you want to assimilate and integrate properly into America, come here legally.
Otherwise, no fuchs given.
There, fixed it.
If they want to vote, all they have to do is apply for citizenship, yes?
Yeah...the “Cheat American Citizens” crowd is REALLY out there...in Oregon too
Wink, wink!
Yeah exactly. Like they never voted....
Unregistered foreign agents.
Hate to admit it but illegals, including Dreamers, are encouraged to vote by Democrats including the current Governor Jerry Moonbat Brown. There are absolutely no barriers to illegals registrating to vote. Millions do and later vote for their Democrat plantation overseers....This fact helped turn California from red to purple to now deep blue in the 1970’s/1980’s. Clearing the voter rolls of illegible voters would turn California back to at least purple.
Illegal Aliens go away
Ask to come in from far away
Honor our laws and you may return
Till then Illegal Aliens go away
This is a great strategy. Almost all ICE and Border Patrol agents can vote. Every illegal in the country should seek out those who enforce our laws, identify themselves as illegals, and lecture the law enforcement officer on how they should vote. Sure, a few million illegal invaders will get deported for their dedication, but it’s worth it if it changes even one vote.
if you can’t respect our lAWS WHILST TRYING TO GET IN, WHAT MAKES ME BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL RESPECT THEM AFTER YOU GET IN?
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