Clinton Picks 'Dreamer' for Hispanic Outreach

The Hill

By Mark Hensch

May 20, 2015

Clinton picks 'Dreamer' for Hispanic outreach 

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton announced on Wednesday that a prominent “Dreamer” and immigration activist is joining her campaign staff.

Lorella Praeli, who lived illegally in the U.S. for 13 years, will serve as the Clinton campaign’s Latino Outreach Director, according to NBC News.

Praeli will be Clinton’s main point of contact with Hispanic communities along the campaign trail and serve as a spokeswoman on immigration issues.

“We are thrilled to have Lorella Praeli, a DREAMer, join our team because of her courage and perspective in the fight for Latino families across the country,” Hillary for America National Political Director Amanda Renteria said in a statement.

“Bringing Lorella into our campaign is the next step in making sure families aren’t living in fear of deportation, all students have the chance to go to college, and that any comprehensive immigration reform ensures full and equal citizenship,” Renteria added.

Praeli received her green card in 2012, more than a decade after entering the U.S. illegally. Democrats and some Republicans refer to illegal immigrants who arrive in America as children as “Dreamers.”

Praeli left her native Peru at age 10 and journeyed with her family to Connecticut. She publicly revealed her undocumented status while attending Quinnipiac University.

Prior to joining Clinton’s team, Praeli served as the advocacy and policy director for United We Dream, an advocacy group for immigration reform and young immigrants.

Praeli will join Clinton’s campaign in mid-June, ahead of what is likely to be a major battle with the GOP for support from the growing Hispanic voting bloc next year.

Hispanic support could be critical to Clinton’s chances, and there is increasing chatter in Washington that she is eyeing Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro as her running mate.

“What I am hearing in Washington, including from people in Hillary Clinton’s campaign, is that the first person on their lists is Julián Castro,” former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros said Sunday on Univision’s “Al Punto.”

Clinton has come out in favor of letting some illegal immigrants serve in the military and has backed creating a path to citizenship.

She has argued that providing tiers of “legal status” is "code for second-class status.”

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com