An [Un]documented Journey

Blanca Hernandez 
Paralegal and Anti-Deportation Activist with #NOTONEMORE 

Blanca Hernandez was very young when she immigrated with her family to the United States from Mexico. She has been in the U.S. for 26 years, yet until the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, also know was the “Dream Act”) was passed, she could have been deported at any time. DACA is an American immigration policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. However, Ms. Hernandez believes that other immigrants should have the same protection that she has received from the DACA. While working as a paralegal in Washington, DC, she has become an outspoken anti-deportation activist, working mainly with the organization #NOTONEMORE. Ms. Hernandez’s activism has sometimes taken the form of civil disobedience; in 2014, she interrupted President Barack Obama’s speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Gala. She was escorted out of the room that day, but she clearly will not be silenced in her work for immigrants’ rights. 

Recorded: September 25, 2015