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Photo Project Shows Human Side Of DACA Debate

 An artist with the Inside Out Dreamers Project pastes photos of UNR students on the sidewalk who had their photos taken to show solidarity with Dreamers.
Natalie Van Hoozer
An artist with the Inside Out Dreamers Project pastes photos of UNR students on the sidewalk who had their photos taken to show solidarity with Dreamers.

 

With continued uncertainty about the future of the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, a community art project recently stopped at the University of Nevada, Reno, to highlight the issue.

Paolo Ramos of the Inside Out Dreamers Project (left) and Precious Gbenjo, ASUN’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion (right) prepare for a press conference on the steps of the Knowledge Center.
Credit Natalie Van Hoozer
Paolo Ramos of the Inside Out Dreamers Project (left) and Precious Gbenjo, ASUN’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion (right) prepare for a press conference on the steps of the Knowledge Center.

 

The Inside Out Dreamers Projectaims to show solidarity with so-called Dreamers by letting community members take their pictures in a photo booth truck. The images are then pasted on the sidewalk for all to see.

The event, held earlier this month, included a press conference where local DACA recipients and community organizers discussed the DREAM Act, which would offer protection to undocumented young immigrants vulnerable to deportation.

UNR’s Social Service Coordinator Jahahi Mazariego speaks about her family’s experience with deportation.
Credit Dalyn Cooke
UNR’s Social Service Coordinator Jahahi Mazariego speaks about her family’s experience with deportation.

 

One of the project’s organizers is Paola Ramos.

“At UNR specifically it's been great. There's been a lot of families, a lot of kids, a lot of students, teachers, faculty members and everyone's really excited because I think that they understand that, in this campus specifically, there's a lot of undocumented students, there's a lot of teachers and allies that support their students,” she said. “Everyone is American, and that's the point that we're trying to make.”

The project will be moving on to other states including Utah, Arizona, and Texas, stopping in over 30 cities.

Community members gather around the photo booth truck, waiting to have their photos taken.
Credit Dalyn Cooke
Community members gather around the photo booth truck, waiting to have their photos taken.

 

Congress has a limited window of time to determine the fate of the program, and a group of conservative attorneys general says DACA was an abuse of presidential power during the Obama administration.

Natalie Van Hoozer is a senior at the Reynold’s School of Journalism and works for Noticiero Móvila Spanish-English multimedia news outlet for northern Nevada.

Natalie is a freelance journalist and translator based in Reno, Nevada, who reports in English and Spanish. She also works for the nonprofit SembraMedia, supporting independent, digital Spanish-language media in the United States.
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