Clinton enlists 'DREAMers' for voter registration drive
They can't vote, but that isn't stopping Hillary Clinton from using DREAMers to register people for the ballot.
There are about 730,000 illegal immigrants whose parents came here illlegally but have grown up and been educated in the U.S. President Obama tried to legalize all of them with his executive order four years ago, but court challenges have prevented the plan's implementation.
Organizers will remind voters that a Trump presidency would end the Dreamer program, according to the campaign, which is already at risk after a June Supreme Court effectively killed Obama's efforts to give legal status to some of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The program is part of an aggressive effort by Clinton's campaign to woo the record 27.3 million Latinos eligible to vote in 2016. Polling shows Trump doing worse with Latino voters than any GOP presidential candidate since 1996. Much of the new effort will focus on battleground states including Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Florida, where Latinos and other immigrants make up an important part of the voting base.
Though Obama's campaign had no formal organization program for Dreamers, door-knocking by those young immigrants, who have lived and attended school in the U.S., helped mobilize many Latino voters who could vote.
Clinton believes she can harness their power in a more formal way, particularly given her opponent. Trump's immigration rhetoric has sparked outrage and fear within the Latino community, though the Republican nominee says it's critical that the country start rigorously enforcing its immigration laws.
He's promised to revoke Obama's executive orders within the first 100 days of his presidency, calling them the "most unconstitutional actions ever undertaken by a president."
Clinton has made revamping the country's immigration system a key plank of her presidential campaign. She has said she will introduce legislation during her first 100 days in office, vowed to restore and expand Obama's programs, close private sector detention centers and to "take a very hard look at the deportation policies" now in force.
Last month, she called on Latino voters to help stop what she called GOP rival Donald Trump's efforts to "fan the flames of racial division."
Apparently, the DREAMers want only to "tell their stories":
"We may not have the right to vote, but 'Mi Sueno, Tu Voto' will help ensure that our stories are heard and it will send a clear signal to Donald Trump that we cannot be silenced," said Astrid Silva, Nevada Dreamer and immigrant rights activist.
Of course, Trump isn't trying to "silence" anyone, but how can you raise the specter of Trump the bogeyman without lying a little bit?
The truth is, legal immigrants have little to worry about from Trump. As for being an illegal immigrant, what is it they expect? They treat the deportation process as a joke, helped along by activists like Ms. Silva who encourage them to avoid responsibility. Should they be surprised when a president actually wants to enforce the law?
Obviously, the DREAMers and other illegals know they have a friend in Hillary Clinton.