O’Malley gets DREAM nod

Kenia Alejandra Calderon — a DREAMer from Des Moines — has endorsed former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Calderon, who was named one of the 15 People to Watch in 2015 by the Des Moines Register earlier this year, announced her support in an Op-Ed for the Huffington Post on Monday.

In her piece, Calderon wrote, “It is clear there is only one person who has the experience, conviction, and record to move my community and our country forward; that person is Gov. Martin O’Malley.”

Calderon is a 21-year-old who attends Drake University. She was born in Santa Anna, El Salvador, according to the Register article. Under President Obama’s 2012 executive action, Calderon was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

The policy allows undocumented immigrants to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation if they entered the country before their 16 birthday and before June 2007.

“Gov. O’Malley has the record that proves that he will continue advocating for my family and the undocumented community, which he refers to them as “New Americans,” Calderon wrote in the Op-Ed. “As governor, Martin O’Malley gave the driver’s licenses to the undocumented community, passed the Maryland Dream Act, and when Republicans tried to eliminate it, he defended it at the ballot box by building a new consensus and traveling across the state of Maryland to show that the Maryland Dream Act is good for our economy, good for our national security, and it’s a law that represents our values as a country.”

— by Rebecca Morin