Yesterday in Nevada, United States Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto sat down to break bread with DAPA-eligible immigrant families impacted by United States v Texas, the Republican-led lawsuit blocking relief for millions of immigrant families across the nation.
Nevada families suffered a tremendous blow by the Supreme Court last June, with the bright futures of some 48,000 Nevada families in limbo as the President’s immigration actions remain on hold.
Cortez Masto sat down to talk to two of these families as part of the ongoing “DAPA Dinner” campaign inviting 2016 political candidates, Senators, Members of Congress, and local elected officials to join an immigrant family for a meal to discuss how federal immigration actions affect children, families, and communities.
The Guigui family has been in the country for more than 20 years, and their daughter is a first time voter who said she will be voting for her parents this November.
The Miranda family has been in the country for 23 years and are a mixed status family. One of their children is a DACA recipient, and one is an American citizen, and their parents would qualify for deportation relief under DAPA.
Like millions of other young kids across the nation, they live in daily fear their families and homes could be torn away from them at any moment.
@AmericasVoice Emotional moment at our #DAPALunch “I’m scare that my mom won’t be home when I come back” pic.twitter.com/ul2ciY0XWq
— VIRIDIANA VIDAL (@VIRIVIDAL) August 10, 2016
“I can’t imagine a worse thing in the world as a child — the concern you have every day that your parents may be taken away from you,” Cortez Masto said.
As the Associated Press in Nevada highlighted after yesterday’s event:
Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto met for lunch Wednesday with families who live in the shadow of deportation, drawing parallels between their stories and her own family’s immigrant roots. The Democratic former Nevada attorney general met at Lindo Michoacan Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas with immigration activists and families who would’ve been eligible for deportation relief under Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, a now-suspended program that President Barack Obama called for through an executive order. ‘Your story is no different than mine. I just happen to be generations down from my grandfather, who came from Mexico,’ said Cortez Masto, who will be the first Latina in the U.S. Senate if she’s elected.
Both Cortez Masto and her opponent, Republican Congressman Joe Heck, were invited to join in a “DAPA Dinner” to hear straight from immigrant families. While Cortez Masto accepted the invitation, Heck’s office did not respond to organizers.
“The Guigui and Miranda families are just two of the thousands of Nevada families who wake up every day, wondering if a knock on the door means their family is about to be torn apart,” Cortez Masto continued in a statement. “This is not what America is about.”
Some images and tweets from the event are below.
“We want to thank you for listening to our stories, to show you the human side” @CatherineForNV @AmericasVoice pic.twitter.com/gwQir03diI
— VIRIDIANA VIDAL (@VIRIVIDAL) August 10, 2016
@iAmericaorg “it’s not easy just to fix our situation but we are here for a better future” @CatherineForNV pic.twitter.com/JqX45n607q
— VIRIDIANA VIDAL (@VIRIVIDAL) August 10, 2016
@AmericasVoice #DAPAdinner @PLANactionNV @iAmericaorg @CCCAction #keepfamiliestogether pic.twitter.com/mCMl9KmBXo
— VIRIDIANA VIDAL (@VIRIVIDAL) August 10, 2016
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down w/ NV immigrant families to discuss #CIR.What an amazing & inspiring group pic.twitter.com/WF9B2sGpfN
— CatherineCortezMasto (@CatherineForNV) August 11, 2016
