Protesters rally for clean “DREAM” act outside Congressman Pearce’s office

Dozens of protesters rallied outside Congressman Steve Pearce’s Las Cruces office on Tuesday to demand what they call a clean “DREAM” Act from Congress.

“Our lives are on the line right now,” said Claudia Flores, a recipient of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly referred to as “DACA.”

President Trump announced in September that he would end his predecessor’s program, but he gave Congress six months to pass a legislative replacement.

“I’ve been here my whole life and I don’t know what I’d do if I got sent back to a hometown that’s not even my hometown,” Flores said. “This is my hometown and I don’t know anything about Mexico.”

Their signs read “don’t criminalize my parents” and “no to border militarization.”

“This country was made of immigrants,” said Gwendi Flores, another DACA recipient. “This land was native Americans. We are all immigrants. We all are.”

“It’s odd that this group is protesting against someone who is on their side,” said Keeley Christiansen, a spokeswoman for Congressman Pearce’s office. “Congressman Pearce has introduced legislation that actually has a chance at getting passed by Congress and signed into law. It isn’t amnesty, it isn’t deportation, it’s a middle-ground solution to provide certainty for DACA recipients.”