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DREAMERS And Activists Demand Senator Bill Nelson Vote No On Spending Bill Without Clean DREAM Act

WLRN Public Media | By Odalis Garcia
Published January 19, 2018 at 7:25 AM EST

DREAMERS and activists with the Florida Immigrant Coalition gathered outside Senator Bill Nelson’s office in Coral Gables on Thursday demanding him to vote no on a spending bill that doesn't  include a clean DREAM act.

“A clean DREAM act would basically give a pathway to citizenship to undocumented youth. And it would not include more enforcement or a wall [or] more criminalization for our communities,” said Paola Muñoz, a community organizer for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Thursday night the House approved a stopgap spending bill to avoid a federal government shutdown. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Carlos Curbelo, Frederica Wilson, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz voted against the bill because it did not include any resolution for the DREAMERS. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart voted for it.

“I am a mother, I work, and I am currently going to school,” said Maria Angelica Ramirez, 30, a DREAMER who currently goes to Florida International University. She came to the United States from Colombia 16 years ago. “I honestly feel hopeful but I feel that this hope is not something that can be sustained alone. We need to be doing everything that we can to let politicians know that we are on top of this issue, and, you know, we deserve dignity,” she said.

Senator Bill Nelson is still undecided and Senator Marco Rubio is sure to vote for it. The Senate is set to vote on a spending bill Friday by midnight or the government will shut down.

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Maria Angela Ramirez (right) hope that Congress will put a stop to the spending bill without a clean DREAM Act.
Odalis Garcia / WLRN
/
WLRN
Maria Angela Ramirez (right) hope that Congress will put a stop to the spending bill without a clean DREAM Act.
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Odalis Garcia
Odalis Garcia is a recent graduate from The New School in New York City where she majored in Journalism with a minor in Religious Studies. Through that she found a love of storytelling. People have so much to say but there are some who are kept quiet or not allowed to have a seat at the table. Odalis hopes to use her work and her words to allow these voices to tell their stories in a fair way. Odalis also spent her time managing the social media for her college and her school's newspaper. It's always the best excuse to have Twitter and Instagram open at all times.
See stories by Odalis Garcia
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