Dreamers Road to the Supreme Court

On Sunday afternoon, a group of determined Dreamers arrived at the Supreme Court ahead of Tuesday’s hearings on three consolidated cases related to DACA. Over 18 days, they walked some 230 miles from Battery Park in view of the Statue of Liberty to the Supreme Court, to be here and to be heard.

On arrival, they broke through a symbolic crepe paper finish line when they reached the Court.

Emotions were running high at the end of their long journey. Circumstances beyond their control leave these Dreamers and their families in limbo yet they live in a country they love and call home because it is the only one they know. All afternoon, the marchers and people who met them at the Court shared their stories and pain and hope.

Eliana Fernández (with phone held high) has just reached the Court after walking from New York. She is one of the plaintiffs in the case.

DACA Hearing Day

Two days later, on Tuesday while the DACA cases were being argued inside the Court, there was a huge rally outside which eventually took over the whole area in front of the Court and First Street.

The actor Bambadjan Bamba, a DACA recipient
The father of Sergio Adrián Hernández Güereca, the 15-year-old who was killed in 2010 by a U.S. border agent while standing on the Mexican side of the border. The Court is hearing a case about whether or not the family is allowed to sue in U.S. courts.

It was a cold and rainy day, but that didn’t stop anyone.

The butterfly, a powerful symbol of migration adopted by the Dreamers, was seen everywhere.

With butterfly signs aloft, young protesters from Pittsburgh disembarked from a bus at Union Station to attend the rally at the Supreme Court. 

Authors: Karen Ramsey and Victoria Pickering. All photos are copyright to them.

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2 Comments

  1. Now that the balance has shifted at the Supreme Court, it’s not looking good for these kids. I think all the conservatives have remarked that they always thought DACA was unconstitutional.

    1. Here’s to hoping that the justices think very carefully over their months of deliberations on these critical cases.

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