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UNR Students Protest DACA Decision

Xóchítl Pāpalōtl organized the Walk Out In Support Of DACA Students and speaks to the crowd gathered in front of the Knowledge Center.
Stephanie Serrano
Xóchítl Pāpalōtl organized the Walk Out In Support Of DACA Students and speaks to the crowd gathered in front of the Knowledge Center. ";s:

Today in Reno, like in many cities across the nation, protestors spoke out against President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will be ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also announced that Trump is giving Congress six months to find a legislative solution. KUNR reporter Stephanie Serrano has more. 

There have been multiple local protests, including one in front of the Federal Courthouse Building and another on the UNR campus.

“I feel unsafe overall I feel like one day I can be here in the U.S. and the next day, be over in Mexico with no money or anything to help me survive over there.”

That was Itzel Perez, a DACA recipient and a student at Truckee Meadows Community College who is hoping to transfer to UNR. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico when she was seven years old.

UNR faculty member Ricardo Salazar, was also there. He coordinates support for the Latino community on campus.  

“Primarily my biggest concern is the sociological stress that this is going to have on students, on young students and their families,” he said, “because of course that DACA program, that program is not just for that individual.”

President Trump is defending his decision, saying that it does give Congress a short period of time to act.

Several Nevada politicians like Governor Brian Sandoval, along with Congressman Ruben Kihuen and Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Dean Heller, have expressed their disapproval.

This story was produced by Stephanie Serrano and Natalie Van Hoozer, seniors at the Reynolds School of Journalism. They report for Noticiero Móvil, a Spanish-English multimedia news outlet for northern Nevada.

As a note of disclosure, the Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education owns the license to this station. 

Natalie is a freelance journalist and translator based in Reno, Nevada, who reports in English and Spanish. She also works for the nonprofit SembraMedia, supporting independent, digital Spanish-language media in the United States.
Stephanie Serrano (she/her/ella) is an award-winning multimedia bilingual journalist based in Reno, Nevada. Her reporting is powered by character-driven stories and is rooted in sound-rich audio. Her storytelling works to share the experiences of unserved communities in regards to education, race, affordable housing and sports.
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