Lulu Martinez, Lizbeth Mateo, Claudia Amaro, Maria Inez Vargas, Adriana Diaz, Cefe Santiago, Luis Gustavo Lopez and Marco Saavedra are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the Nogales, Arizona, port of entry. The eight self-proclaimed Dreamers are asking President Barack Obama to grant them something they are calling “humanitarian parole” because they have called the U.S. their home since they were each brought to the country at an early age. Supporters stood on both sides of the border, chanting, “Bring them home, Bring them home!” and, “Undocumented and unafraid.” They have stated they will call ICE and their local, state and federal officials to push for the release of the so-called “Dream 8.”
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While none of these Dreamers lives in Orange County, each has been involved in activism here and definitely with the Dreamer movement that has been a prominent part of Latino OC life for the past decade. “What I can say is that they're testing immigration laws and going above and beyond,” says Julio Salgado, artist/activist and OC Weekly contributor. “They are definitely putting themselves at risk, which, in my view, is more than any politician is doing.”
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