daca
December 3, 2020 -
First-time voters including young people, former felons, and newly naturalized citizens proved to be a crucial voting bloc in many races nationwide including in Georgia, which a Democratic presidential candidate hadn't won in 28 years. Experts predict that these first-time voters will continue to play an important role in shaping Southern and national politics.
December 20, 2019 -
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon hand down its decision over continuing an Obama-era program giving temporary reprieve from deportation to immigrants brought to the country as children. Nearly one-third of the program's active beneficiaries live in Southern states.
November 16, 2018 -
The federal government's 287(g) program has put some 15,000 undocumented immigrants in deportation proceedings in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. But following a grassroots campaign by the immigrant-rights group Comunidad Colectiva, county residents voted to unseat their pro-287(g) sheriff for one who's promised to end participation.
September 8, 2017 -
Following President Trump's decision to phase out the Obama-era DACA program that spared from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, there's a renewed urgency to pass the federal Dream Act, which would offer them a path to citizenship — and Southern lawmakers may provide the key votes needed.
December 16, 2016 -
Immigrant advocates in Southern states say they'll continue to fight deportations and hostile rhetoric under the new administration — just as they have done for years at the state and local level.
June 30, 2016 -
In Southern battleground states, the growing Latino electorate could be a decisive voting bloc — and especially motivated after last week's 4-4 Supreme Court deadlock effectively halted President Obama's deportation relief programs.
April 29, 2016 -
The number of registered Latino voters in Alabama increased threefold in less than a decade. Now organizers are fighting back against hostility towards the immigrant community while working to elevate the state's Latino vote.
