Washington, DC – AVEF’s digital campaigns manager and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, Juan Escalante, was featured on a special edition of “Aquí y Ahora” last night on Univision along with Dreamers Lorena Jofre, Justino Mora, Piero Caceres, Bruno Villegas, and Laura Veira.
Since Trump decided to end DACA, Juan has been active in the media discussing how DACA has changed his life; giving advice to DACA applicants; and urging Congress to act as soon as possible to pass a legislative solution.
Juan’s tweets have gone viral here and here, and his Facebook live video advocating for the bipartisan Dream Act has been viewed over 600 times.
Univision’s segment was special because it dedicated an entire hour to opening a window into Dreamers’ worlds, giving the public a glimpse into the high stakes of Trump’s decision to end the program, the upcoming renewal deadline this week, and the urgent need to pass a complete solution in Congress.
Telemundo has also given extensive attention to individuals Dreamers in their feature entitled, “Los Dreamers y Trump,” and multiple other programs. On the day Trump ended DACA, Juanappeared live in studio while Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart reported the devastating news and filmed Dreamers’ reactions.
According to Juan Escalante,
The work that Spanish language media has done to tell the stories of Dreamers affected by Trump’s decision to end DACA has given the public a personal and humane look into the need for a clean Dream Act. However, there is still work to be done. English language media should follow suit by dedicating significant air time to spotlighting the lives of individual Dreamers living all across the US, and the ways that DACA has impacted their lives and their communities.
There are nearly 800,000 Dreamers in the United States who are American in all ways but one: on paper. While our immigration statuses are the same, our stories are not. It is my hope that English language TV networks follow the trail blazed by Univision and Telemundo, and broadcast major national feature programs that put a face on and give voice to America’s Dreamers in English too.
Follow Frank Sharry and America’s Voice Education Fund on Twitter: @FrankSharry and @AmericasVoice
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