The Democratic arena of presidential candidates has been heating up, pretty much every big name thinking 2020 this year. The most recent to make headlines is Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was received media attention for hiring a deputy press secretary who says she does not have legal status.
Belén Sisa, an activist from Arizona, has been hired as the deputy press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign. Sisa has self declared that she is an immigrant without legal statues.
Sisa is a Dreamer, meaning she has DACA status under the Obama Administration's program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Sisa is twenty-five-years old. Announcing her new position on the campaign, she said the job brought forth an "emotional" moment on Facebook.
The Facebook post continued, Sisa saying, "This is really emotional for me. I can't help but think of 18-year-old Bélen, who felt hopeless and powerless to the anti-immigrant attacks and policies that were holding her back from her dreams..."
"I can't help but think of the generations of sacrifice my family has had to do for me to get here," Sisa furthers, "Never in our wildest dreams did we think I'd be making moves like these."
This is not the first time Belén Sisa has made national news over her immigration status. In 2017, she posted a photo of herself paying taxes to push back against the stereotypes that undocumented immigrants don't contribute to the United States. Her photo went viral.
Sisa's mother, Isabel O'Neal, said, "She's so brave..DACA is expiring every day. Hers is going to expire in one year...what are we going to do with all of these youth? Congress has to pass the DREAM act."
While Sisa is not allowed to vote because she is not a United States citizen, she supported Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries and supported Hillary Clinton in the general election, explaining that she hoped her vocal advocacy would inspire those who could vote to choose her candidate.
"Even though I can't vote, I can get 200 people to vote, and that matters."
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