News / Politics

Activists protest Pelosi at news conference on DREAM Act

Monday, 18 September 2017 9:13 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 September 2017 9:48 PM ]

Nancy Pelosi tries to talk as protesters demonstrate during a press conference on the DREAM ACT on September 18, 2017 in San Francisco. (Photo by AP)

A group of undocumented youth and activists confront House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi at a press conference accusing her of collusion with the Trump administration over immigration policy.

"We are not a bargaining chip!" the protesters chanted. "All of us or none of us," they said, while holding signs reading, "Democrats are Deporters.”

Pelosi was holding the conference with fellow California Democratic House members Barbara Lee and Jared Huffman to call for the passage of the DREAM Act, which would allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) and other undocumented immigrants brought to the US as minors to remain in the country.

President Donald Trump, Senate Minority leader Charles Schumer and Pelosi had agreed to work on the plan during a rare dinner meeting last week. Such a compromise meeting seemed to have agitated the protesters.

The protesters who interrupted the conference were calling for a “clean” DREAM act — one that did not make concessions to Republicans on border security.

Some of the protesters went as far to call Pelosi a "liar," NBC reported.

She tried to take back control of the event, telling protesters, "You’ve had your say, and it’s beautiful music to our ears,” however the interruptions continued and Pelosi was forced to leave the press conference

Six Dreamers sue Trump

Meanwhile, a group of six DACA recipients took legal action against Trump in a San Francisco federal court over his decision to end the program, arguing that he “was motivated by unconstitutional bias against Mexicans and Latinos” in a move to upend the lives of 800,000 immigrant youths and their families.

Among the Dreamers suing in this latest action is San Diego attorney Dulce Garcia and a fourth-year medical student and Master’s candidate from Harvard whose DACA work authorization expires in January 2019.

Dulce Garcia, 34, a San Diego attorney who immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was four. (Photo by Reuters)

During the 2016 presidential election, Trump ran on a hardline immigration platform, promising to end DACA and build a wall on the border with Mexico to stop immigrants from entering and increase jobs for US workers.

Legal experts have said court challenges to Trump’s decision could face an uphill battle because in the US presidential system, the president typically has wide authority in implementing immigration policy.

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