Immigration News & Opinion
Sat - May 19, 2012

Philly.com, February 1. In the Philadelphia area, Fernanda Marroquin, 22, an undocumented immigrant from Peru, has become the face of the youth movement fighting for the legalization and humane treatment of illegal immigrants. As an organizer for DreamActivist Pennsylvania, she sees the struggle as being far broader than pushing for a single piece of legislation, like a federal DREAM Act, which she agrees is not going anywhere in this election year. "We realize we have to fight for all immigrants. The fact that families are being separated on a daily basis is ridiculous," she says. Marroquin's older sister, Maria, first came out publicly and declared herself as undocumented at rallies in Philadelphia two years ago. Since Maria moved to the Chicago area to attend Dominican University, Fernanda has become more outspoken here. A Philly immigration lawyer, Dave Bennion, has been by their side, advising them and other undocumented youths. He's taken up the immigrant-rights cause so seriously that in October, he quit his job at the nonprofit Nationalities Service Center so he could focus more on advocacy.