(Arlington, VA)— NPR published a story highlighting the Common Ground: Immigration exhibit and it’s goal of changing the conversation from the areas that divide us to the Common Ground we share on one of nation’s toughest issues. Listen and read the entire article here.
Below are excerpts from the piece.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, as it’s officially known, has broad support across the political spectrum. The majority of Democrats and Republicans tell pollsters that they support protections for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children — called DREAMers.
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But the fate of the DREAMers is far from certain. The Trump administration is trying to end DACA, which it considers illegal. The high court may well clear the way for that to happen. And those in Congress still can’t agree on a way to protect DREAMers.
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“There is so much agreement around DREAMers,” said Jorge Lima, vice president for immigration at Stand Together. It’s one of three nonprofit groups behind Common Ground, a traveling exhibit devoted to the idea that Americans have more in common on immigration than they think. “Which is a surprising truth to most people,” he said, “who believe that we’re so divided on immigration that we can’t even talk about it.”
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The exhibit is a series of doors. Behind each one is a big TV screen that plays a short video about immigration that’s focused on issues that many people have told pollsters they support, including DACA.
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“We’re not pretending that we’re going to suddenly take, you know, someone from a very harsh anti-immigrant point of view, then voilà — there’s this big aha moment, everything changes,” said Lima of Stand Together.
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“But what could change is the way they engage in the conversation,” he said. “And so the other person no longer becomes an enemy but becomes someone that maybe they can work with.”
Read the entire article here.
For interviews with a representative, please contact Wadi Gaitan, 202-853-4433 or Gabrielle Cipriano 571-329-1846
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