DREAM Supporters In New Jersey Launch Thanksgiving Hunger Strike

A coalition of pro-immigrant and civil rights groups in New Jersey are calling for a Thanksgiving week hunger strike in support of the DREAM Act. The hunger strike will take place from Monday, Nov. 20 to Thursday, Nov. 23.

According to organizers, participants are demanding a “DREAM Act that will provide a path to citizenship for immigrant youth without funding for Trump's deportation machine.”

President Donald Trump eliminated the DACA program, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in September. The program was created by President Obama to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children from deportation and to grant them work permits. About 700,000 people are enrolled in the programs under terms that require them to be employed or be enrolled in school.

• See related article: Thousands Of DACA Recipients Face Deportation

The New Jersey hunger strike starts Monday at 11 a.m. and will go through Thanksgiving Day. During the protest, strikers and their supporters also plan to hold daily actions at the offices of several members of Congress to demand that they support “a Clean DREAM Act.”

• Mon., Nov. 20, at 11 a.m., at office of Rep. Chris Smith: 4573 S. Broad St., Hamilton Township
• Tues., Nov. 21, at 4 p.m., at office of Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen: 30 Schuyler Pl., Morristown
• Wed., Nov. 22, at 3 p.m., at office of Rep. Frank LoBiondo: 5914 Main St., Mays Landing
• Thurs., Nov. 23, at 11 a.m., at office of Rep. Leonard Lance: 1 New St., Clinton

Organizing groups include Action Together New Jersey, Make the Road New Jersey, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Badass Teachers Association, Laldef- The Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., CATA- The Farmworkers' Support Committee, Wind of the Spirit – WotS and New Jersey Citizen Action.

• See related article: This Lawyer Used To Deport Immigrants; Now She Defends Them

People who are pregnant, breastfeeding, have high/low blood pressure or have any health issues should not participate in the hunger strike, organizers said.

For more information about the hunger strike, click here.

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