Members of the Baha’i student association participated in UTEP's International Day of Peace organized by the Religious Studies Program. (Edwin Delgado/Borderzine.com)

Religious groups set aside differences to emphasize the common goal of peace

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EL PASO – The world’s religions, often at bitter odds with each other, came together recently in a celebration of peace and in the spirit of doing good for humanity, at the University of Texas at El Paso. To attract different religions and even atheists the Religious Studies Program at UTEP needed to be creative. The academics brought the religious groups together to celebrate International Day of Peace, a theology they could all agree on. And they came – Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Muslims and even atheists. “We had to choose an event that doesn’t favor anyone,” said Ann Branan Horak, director of the Religious Studies Program.

Migrant workers’ march across U.S. for back pay ends in D.C.

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WASHINGTON – A group of elderly migrant laborers ended a cross-country protest Thursday outside the White House, hoping the U.S. would prod Mexico to pay money owed to them for work they did decades ago. “We want Washington and the whole world to know that the Mexican government stole our money,” the group of 20 “ex braceros,” or migrant laborers, and activists sang. They ended their 22-day cross-country trip, demanding the U.S. government open the Bracero Program files and aid them in obtaining the 10 percent of their wages in savings accounts they claim the Mexican government never paid them. The U.S. established the Bracero Program in 1942 to give visas to guest laborers who replaced domestic workers who were fighting in World War II. It employed several thousand Mexican agricultural and railroad workers until the program ended in 1967.

La familia Soltero-Lara en pleno, celebrando que Desiree volviera a caminar. (Cortesía de la familia Soltero-Lara)

Un conductor ebrio cambió dos vidas en un instante trágico

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EL PASO – Desiree Lara, 18, se divertía en la fiesta de un amigo muy conocido en Canutillo, Texas una noche de marzo de 2012, pasando la noche bailando al ritmo de música electrónica, cumbias, hip hop, tomando cerveza, tequila y otras bebidas preparadas. Los padres de su amigo estaban fuera de la ciudad y el muchacho de 17 años decidió que era la noche perfecta para invitar a sus amigos a una fiesta con bebidas alcohólicas y hasta incluso contratar a un DJ. Siguiendo los consejos de su madre de no manejar ebria, Lara le pidió a una amiga, Sarah Castillo, de 18 años, que la llevara a casa en su carro. Durante los próximos diez minutos sus vidas dieron un giro inesperado. Mientras Lara y su amiga se iban de la fiesta, uno de sus mejores amigos, Nathan Ramírez de 18 años manejaba de regreso a la fiesta tras ir a dejar a su novia a su casa.

Communication Professor Richard Pineda (far left) leads a discussion on the 83rd Texas Legislature with State Sen. Jose Rodriguez (D), Rep. Joe Pickett (D), Rep. Marisa Marquez (D -77), Rep. Joe Moody (D), Rep. Naomi Gonzalez (D -76) and Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D -75). (Aaron Montes/Borderzine.com)

El Paso state legislators decry law that restricts women’s reproductive health options

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EL PASO – A controversial law passed during the 83rd session of the Texas State Legislature in 2013 that restricts women’s reproductive health options drew strong criticism at a gathering here of state legislators from the El Paso area. The bill restricts abortions after 20 weeks and mandates that clinics must meet the same standards as major surgical health-care facilities. Governor Rick Perry signed it into law on July 18 in a second special session after a filibuster by Senator Wendy Davis (D) on June 25 that drew national attention. Rep. Marisa Marquez (D -77), Rep. Naomi Gonzalez (D-76) and Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-75) agreed that the legislation was detrimental to an individual’s health and that the legislation was biased against women. “When the heat is on and you have something explode the way it did you really do see the true character of Texas women,” Marquez said.

Catholics gather at the U.S.-Mexico border fence to pray for fair and humane immigration reform

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Lea esta historia en español. SUNLAND PARK, NM – With their fingers sticking out through the chain-link border fence from the Mexican side, Johan 10, and his brother Irving, 11, squint their eyes against the penetrating afternoon sun to make out the people who drive up on this side of the fence. About 150 members of area Catholic congregations and the bishops of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso gathered on Saturday, September 7th along the fence that separates two countries in the neighborhood region of Anapra to pray for immigration reform. With leaders of the dioceses of Ciudad Juarez on the other side, and the dioceses of El Paso, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Brownsville, San Angelo, Piedras Negras and San Antonio on this, the U.S. side, the Catholic community showed its support for immigrant human rights by gathering for a solidarity prayer on the border desert. Nuevo Laredo bishop, Gustavo Rodriguez Vega, and archbishop of the San Antonio archdioceses, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, conducted the prayer and said the purpose of the event was to acknowledge the necessity for an ample and fair immigration reform, according to the teachings of the Catholic society.

Los hermanitos Johan,10, e Irving, 11, sonríen cuando hablan de todas las cosas que harán cuando su padre les compre la visa que les prometió. (Vianey Alderete/Borderzine.com)

Marcha católica al pie de la frontera reza por la reforma inmigratoria

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Read this story in English. SUNLAND PARK, NM – Con los dedos enganchados en los diamantes de metal que forman la malla fronteriza, Johan, 10, y su hermano Irving, 11, luchan contra los penetrantes rayos del sol desde el lado mexicano para poder abrir sus ojos y observar en detalle a la gente que ya empieza a llegar por carro de este lado de la frontera. Unos 150 feligreses católicos y los obispos de Ciudad Juárez y El Paso se reunieron el sábado 7 de septiembre junto a la malla que separa dos países en el vecindario Anapra, para orar por la reforma migratoria. Con líderes de la diócesis de Ciudad Juárez del otro lado y las diócesis de El Paso, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Brownsville, San Ángelo, Piedras Negras y San Antonio de este, la comunidad católica mostró  su apoyo por los derechos de los inmigrantes al reunirse en el desierto fronterizo celebrando una misa de solidaridad. Las oraciones fueron dirigidas por el obispo Gustavo Rodríguez Vega de Nuevo Laredo y el arzobispo de la arquidiócesis de San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, quienes mencionaron claramente que el evento era para señalar la necesidad de una amplia y justa reforma migratoria americana, según los principios de la enseñanza social católica.

Border Patrol agents observed the event at Anapra. (Cristina Quinones/Borderzine.com)

Prayers at the Anapra border fence made immigrant hardship personal for me

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SUNLAND PARK, NM – Growing up in El Paso allowed me to journey through many different walks of life. If you live here long enough, you get to experience different cultures. If you stay long enough, you will begin to understand them as well. I attended a gathering at the Anapra fence right on the borderline Sunday, organized by Catholic bishops from border dioceses in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico to pray for immigration reform. People of the Catholic faith gathered on both sides of the border to pray for those who have experienced oppression and hardship while immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

"Obama has made the case that the U.S. empowered by the world’s fear of and revulsion for chemical weapons should hit Syria hard. After all, we have seen the corpses – little ones and big ones – pile up, choked to death by sarin gas."

Politicians mull while chemical weapons kill hundreds in Syria

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – They say politics makes strange bedfellows. Sometimes politicians call that compromise, something we have not seen much of late in Washington, but I can only imagine true-blue Beto O’Rourke’s face when he woke up this morning next to right-winger U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Their procrustean bed had sliced off O’Rourke’s left side leaving Cruz with all the covers and most of the mattress. The ties that bind them are doubts about supporting President Obama’s decision to strike at Syria’s caches of chemical weapons. Obama has made the case that the U.S. empowered by the world’s fear of and revulsion for chemical weapons should hit Syria hard.

Maria Espinoza talks to Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) about her concerns about U.S. military intervention in Syria after the town hall meeting on Sept. 2 at the Mills building in Downtown El Paso. (Aaron Montes/Borderzine)

O’Rourke says his constituents and his conscience will decide his vote on a U.S. military strike in Syria

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EL PASO – Only a few of some 150 military veterans, businessmen and members of the local Syrian community attending a town hall meeting here Sept. 2 called by U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said they supported any U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war. On Aug. 31, President Obama called for a congressional vote to authorize a military strike against Syrian stockpiles of chemical weapons after the government of Bashar Hafez al-Assad allegedly unleashed a chemical attack that killed nearly 1,500 of his own people. O’Rourke said he wanted to hear from his constituents before taking part in next week’s vote in Washington, D.C. “With your emails, Facebook quotes, phone calls, letters, I feel like I can then make a decision that is in the best interest of my community and in keeping with my conscience,” O’Rourke said.

UTEP officers were unable to provide information about the average amount of student debt among UTEP students. (Elliot Torres/Borderzine.com)

Counselors see a rise in mental health issues among college students

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EL PASO— With college enrollment constantly increasing, the number of students with mental health issues on college campuses has also gone up. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that anxiety, depression and general stress are on the rise. In 2012 “more than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year,” according to  NAMI. These are individuals who come into university and find themselves dealing with “stress, relationships, and adjusting to college life,” which happen to be some of the major issues weighing on student’s minds at The University of Texas at El Paso, says Cecilia Holguin, a licensed clinical social worker and one of several counselors at the University Counseling Center. A major problem for these students is a lack of awareness that help is nearby.  “We always try to do outreach.

A grandson hugs his grandfather after both were apprehended by Border Patrol in Hidalgo, Texas. (Mónica Ortiz Uribe/Fronteras)

Illegal crossings increasingly deadly along South Texas border

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By Mónica Ortiz Uribe

A costly game of cat and mouse unfolds nightly along the banks of the Rio Grande in South Texas. The number of immigrants crossing illegally there has doubled in the last four years, making it the busiest section along the Southwest border. As night fell outside Mission, Texas in late August the Rio Grande looked deceivingly peaceful under the glimmer of a full moon. Suddenly through a pair of night vision goggles, a Border Patrol agent spotted movement. He picked up his radio.

American contralto Marian Anderson performs in front of 75,000 spectators in Potomac Park.

When Dr. King spoke in front of the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago, I listened

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EL PASO – I was there 50 years ago on the Washington, D.C., Mall when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Monument challenged the conscience of America with four words, “I have a dream.”

That was also the beginning of my understanding of the black experience in America. A child of the capital’s white Maryland suburbs, I had just graduated from high school. There were only two African American students in my class. I had a summer job at the famous Discount Records and Books store near Dupont Circle owned by Bob Bialek, busting boxes in the basement for 30 cents an hour. Bialek was my dad’s childhood friend.

United Nations calling for answers from Washington over “racist nature” of U.S.-Mexico border wall

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By Marta del Vado

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expresses their concern to Washington regarding the potential “discriminatory impact” of the construction of the US-Mexico fence on indigenous communities living on both sides of the border. The chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Alexei Avtonomov, confirmed in a letter submitted in March 2013 that, according to several complaints received by different NGO organizations, the US-Mexico wall has been built, for the most part, in areas inhabited by indigenous communities. This construction “harms their lands, ecosystems, and their cultural lives and traditions, including their access to tribal lands located north and south of the border and to resources required for traditional ceremonies.”However the wall has not been built in more prosperous and wealthy areas, like the Golf River Bend resort, on the Texas border. Mr. Avtonomov warns that this selective construction discriminates against indigenous communities and Latin migrants with lowest resources. The complaint against the “racist nature of the wall,” has been presented by several ethnic Indian activists of the Lipan Apache community together with the Faculty of Law of the University of Texas, to the United Nations (in 2012) and to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (in 2008).

The McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute will be heald in El Paso on September 26-29.

U.S. journalists selected for September immigration reporting workshop at UTEP

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EL PASO – Borderzine.com has selected a diverse group of 17 online, print, broadcast and Spanish-media journalists to attend the McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute on Immigration on the UTEP campus September 26-29. Chosen from a diverse pool of 76 applicants from throughout the United States, those selected include freelance journalists and represent a good mix of geographic and ethnic diversity. Three UTEP student journalists will also receive scholarships to attend the workshop. During the three-day training the journalists will learn how to mine data and access other research to develop compelling and in-depth stories about immigration in their local communities. They will also learn about immigration policy and legislation from national experts, tour the border fence, learn how border journalists cover the issue and participate in a town hall meeting with local immigrant community leaders at Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe in the predominately immigrant Segundo Barrio community of El Paso.

Washington remembers, celebrates the 50th anniversary of March on Washington

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WASHINGTON – When Ethel Delaney Lee,87, heard about plans for the March on Washington in 1963, she knew it was something she wanted to participate in. She didn’t expect it to be such a defining moment in history, but soon realized how important this gathering was. “It was in the news, in the newspapers, announcements in the churches. You couldn’t exist in Washington and not hear about it,” Lee said in an interview in the Northwest Washington home she moved into just weeks before the march. Lee, her late husband.

Having skate parks for El Paso’s action sports enthusiast also draws them more into the community, and according to Robertson, helps encourage good citizenship. (David A. Reyes)

Local nonprofit propels skateboarding into area parks

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EL PASO – El Paso City Council approves a $1.4 million bond for the construction of the largest skate park in the region with help from a tireless local organization. The new state-of-the-art skate park in Northeast El Paso, began construction in June financed by the 2012 Quality of Life bonds approved by City Council. The park is scheduled to be completed by August 30, 2014. “We firmly believe that skateboarding, BMX, and all action sports are here to stay,” said Bill Robertson, assistant professor at the University of Texas at El Paso and member of the El Paso Skatepark Association, “[these sports are] part of our culture, and by making parks available you’re actually extending opportunities not only to young people, but also to families.”

Part of this skate-park project stems from an idea that Robertson, Paul Zimmerman, and Gabe Lawler devised back in 2008, when skateboarders and El Paso City Hall got together to build more “high quality” concrete facilities for skateboarders, according to the association. The El Paso Skatepark Association has ushered in 17 skate parks in El Paso County, with 10 within city limits.

Mike Martinez receives the 2010 Hicks-Middagh Award for Outstanding Alumni in the field of Communication from Dr. Frank Pérez. (Brian Kanof/Courtesy of the UTEP Dept. of Communication)

UTEP Communication chair Dr. Frank G. Pérez begins the school year with new challenges

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EL PASO— After five years as chair of UTEP’s Department of Communication, Dr. Frank G. Pérez decided to step down from the administrative position to invest more time in ongoing research projects and in the classroom. “I think it’s time I let someone else have a shot at running the department,” Pérez said. Dr. Stacey K. Sowards, associate professor of communication, will become the new chair as of August 31, 2013. Pérez, a self- described Chicano born and raised in El Paso, explains that he never really thought of pursuing a career in administration. His goal always has been to be a college professor and focus on research.

José Luis González, a photojournalist for El Norte newspaper, risks his life every to cover murder scenes at Ciudad Juárez as do most of journalists in one of the most dangerous cities of the world. (Ivan Pierre Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Reporters can experience ‘vicarious trauma’ when covering violent events

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WASHINGTON – Journalists are regularly put into emotional situations, covering murders, natural disasters or wars. They watch as a family member grieves over a lost loved one and as protesters speak out against their violent government. Many put themselves in danger when they cover these situations. When the violence erupted in Egypt on Wednesday, journalists were among the dead. Reporters and news organizations have started to recognize and talk about the effects of covering traumatic situations on journalists.

Ethnic, political leaders denounce King

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WASHINGTON — Reaction by leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as Hispanic and civil rights organizations, has been swift, strident and steady this week in answer to anti-Hispanic comments made by U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa. Responding to DREAMer supporters’ contentions that the contributions and potential of tens of thousands of undocumented Latino youths are undervalued, the six term Republican Congressman told the conservative Website Newsmax July 18 that for every “illegal immigrant” who becomes a valedictorian, “there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and have calves s the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

Fellow Republican Raúl Labrador of Idaho quickly characterized King’s comments as “irresponsible and reprehensible,” adding, “I hope that if he thought about it, he wouldn’t say such a thing again.”

But he already has. Since then, King has elaborated in a July 23 Radio Iowa interview with O. Kay Henderson , “It’s not something that I’m making up. This is real. We have people that are drug mules…You can tell by their physical characteristics what they’re doing for months, going through the desert with 75 pounds of drugs on their back.”

“What he said is wrong.

Personal trainer trims down clients and bulks up on education

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EL PASO – Hiding in the back room behind the treadmills, elliptical machines, and 50-pound steel weights, Kimberly Rayner carefully underlines important information in her economics textbook to prepare for an exam. She still manages to look up and smile at the sweaty people in T-shirts and spandex lifting weights, doing sit-ups, and running at the gym trying to get their summer bodies in shape. “Come on, you can do it!” she cheers and “reach for it!” as she watches her trainees’ eyes light up at her words of encouragement. Rayner is both a student at The University of Texas at El Paso and personal trainer at New You Fitness and Yoga Studio located in the west side. Like other students on tight schedules who juggle jobs and college life, Rayner rises every Monday through Saturday at 4 a.m. to head to the gym where she works roughly 30 to 40 hours a week, sometimes pulling 12-hour shifts and attending college classes between training sessions.

Un trabajador agrícola mantiene el campo limpio de hierbas con el tractor donde se cosecha la fresa en Oxnard, California. (Photo: Martha Ramírez/El Nuevo Sol)

Trabajadores indocumentados continúan alimentando la industria agrícola de los Estados Unidos

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Por Martha Ramírez

Desde hace ocho años, Ismael Contreras y su esposa, Consuelo Magaña, han trabajado en la agricultura, específicamente en la pizca de frutas y vegetales por el oeste de los Estados Unidos. “Fue muy difícil venirnos y viajar hacia los Estados Unidos sabiendo que llegaríamos a un estado donde no conoceríamos a nadie”, dice Magaña. Para ellos la decisión de emigrar no fue fácil especialmente cuando tuvieron que dejar todo lo que tenían en México y comenzar desde cero. Por muchos años, hombres y mujeres de diferentes partes del mundo han inmigrado a los Estados Unidos a trabajar en la pizca de frutas y vegetales. Algunos llegan con visas de trabajo mientras otros cruzan a los Estados Unidos sin autorización.

Bottle caps, movie tickets and model trains bring happiness to collectors

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EL PASO – From Budweiser to Red Stripe, bottle caps line the windowsill of Chris Macias’ bedroom, reflecting the sun’s rays, coloring the white walls in greens, blues and yellows. Two years ago, Macias started saving only the bottle caps of Jarritos, a Mexican soda, but after his 21st birthday last year, he began to collect only beer bottle caps. “It doesn’t even have to be something that I drank,” Macias said. “If I see a bottle cap, I might just snatch it.”

With over 100,000 collectors, coins are the most popular collectible in the United States, but others show off their collection of virtually anything — celebrity hair has racked up roughly 2,000 collectors in the last decade. Whatever the item, collecting is a human trait.

(Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Demonstrators in Washington led by U.S. Rep. Steve King decry immigration reform

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Special to Borderzine

WASHINGTON – With the U.S. Senate-passed immigration bill facing political limbo in the U.S. House of Representatives, conservative factions are voicing their opposition loudly here before any compromise can be reached. Travel buses full of mainly older white attendees, from mostly southern states, representing the Tea Party Community group along with the Black American Leadership Alliance (BALA) spearheaded by Leah Durant gathered here at Freedom Plaza recently during the “March for Jobs” rally. They carried homemade anti-immigration reform signs demanding “No Amnesty”, “American Jobs are for Americans”, “Close our Borders” and simply, “Deport.”

“All Democrats and all Independents in the Senate believe that there ought to be Amnesty, a handful of Republicans believe that also,” U.S. Representative Steve King a Republican from Iowa told them. “Whatever our heart says about people that want to be Americans but sought about doing it the illegal way, we can’t give them that legal status without sacrificing the rule of law.”

Braving the scorching heat, close to 1000 demonstrators led by King marched along Pennsylvania Ave. toward Capitol Hill’s upper Senate Park chanting slogans like “Kill the Bill” (referring to the Senate immigration bill 744) and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the Gang of Eight must go.” The drafters of the bill are known as the Gang of Eight.

Simon Jun, an undocumented student and DREAM rider, speaks publicly for the first time about his situation. He says that Congress needs to pass immigration reform for the families living in the shadows. (Rob Denton/SHFWire)

DREAMers go on summer road trip for immigration reform

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WASHINGTON – Steps away from the Capitol, DREAM rider Simon Jun spoke publically for the first time Wednesday about being an undocumented student in the U.S.

“Growing up, I understood what it meant to be undocumented,” he said. “Don’t break any laws, no matter how trivial they may seem. Never tell or hint to another individual that you are undocumented.”

Standing next to fellow DREAM riders, Asian-American advocacy groups and members of Congress, Jun called on lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform. He said he is thankful to have received approval to stay in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants temporary residency to young adults brought to the country as children. But he said the larger issue needs a permanent fix.

Kent Rinehart laughs as he and his classmates tackle the challenges of learning a new language. (Todd Brison/El Nuevo Tennessean)

Speaking the language: Physicians adapt as Hispanic population grows

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By Todd Brison

JOHNSTON CITY, Tenn. – It is difficult for a parent to explain birth control to a child. That topic gets even more complicated when things are the other way around. This is exactly the situation Spanish teacher Holly Melendez found herself in when she accompanied a Spanish-speaking friend to the doctor’s office. “Even as poorly as I was interpreting, the other doctors asked me to come down and help them out with someone else,” Melendez said.

Janaye Ingram, D.C. bureau chief of the National Action Network, speaks about the importance of voting Saturday as part of 100 vigils held around the country for Trayvon Martin. “If we don’t want this to happen again, we have to make sure that stand your ground is repealed and that nothing else similar is introduced,” she said. (Christine Scalora/SHFWire)

Hundreds gather, pray at D.C. vigil for Trayvon Martin

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WASHINGTON – Kadija Ash joined hundreds of others Saturday at one of 100 vigils across the country for Trayvon Martin. “This is the story of my life,” she said. “I have three sons.”

Ash, 62, a D.C. resident who works for the city, said lived through the fear that became reality for Trayvon Martin’s mother. Her sons are now in their 40s. “It didn’t for me, but it could have,” she said.

Un equipo de escaramuzas hace una demostración en un lienzo de El Paso. (Jessica Salcedo/Borderzine.com)

Escaramuzas Zapatistas – Ocho muchachas a todo galope

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HORIZON CITY, TX – Todo empieza con tradición, lo traen en sus venas, y viene de su cultura. Después se convierte en pasión por el deporte y luego el amor crece por los caballos. Las Escaramuzas Zapatistas son un grupo de ocho muchachas que se atreven a montar un caballo y realizar rutinas peligrosas a todo galope. Vestidas de Adelitas o de Charras, este equipo monta sus caballos arriba de una albarda, que es un montura especial donde las escaramuzas pueden colocar sus dos piernas a un lado en vez de montar el caballo con las piernas abiertas. “Ellas practican tres veces a la semana, de dos a tres horas,” dijo Teresa Castro instructora de escaramuza charra de las Zapatistas.

Pastor José Antonio Galván, right, runs an asylum near Juárez. With him is patient Josuá Rosales, who helps with its operation. (Courtesy of Morgan Smith)

Pastor struggles to provide for the mentally ill in Juárez as officials ignore their suffering

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CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – It’s 6:41 Sunday morning, the phone rings and Pastor José Antonio Galván is on the line. He is the founder of Vision in Action, a mental asylum on Juárez’ western edge that cares for about 100 patients. I’ve written a number of articles about Galván. I visit the asylum often and am always astonished that he has been able to maintain the facility with almost no government support for 17 years. On this Sunday morning, however, I feel doubt in his voice for the first time.

Prerna Lal, 28, and Lindsay Schubiner, 28, a same-sex bi-national couple, participate in the "first National DREAM wedding. (Luis Hernández/Borderzine.com)

Wedding joins two persons and two causes – LGBT advocacy and the DREAMers movement

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Special to Borderzine

WASHINGTON – In the quaint and inconspicuous Lutheran Church of the Reformation, situated right next to the Supreme Court, a wedding is about to take place. A crowd of media, LGBT advocacy groups and hundreds of National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA) DREAMers, begins to find its way to the seats, setting aside signs and banners. The couple arrives minutes later. The bride is wearing a slim-fitting white dress, while the groom is sporting a blue tie and shirt. Both are wearing white flower tiaras.