Prayer, dance and hope at DACA rally in Modesto

A few hundred people rallied in Modesto behind young immigrants hoping not to be deported.

The Monday night event at Tenth Street Place featured Mexican music and dance and pleas in English and Spanish for federal action. Ralliers urged permanent extension of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, aimed at people who entered the United States illegally with their parents.

An estimated 25,000 people are eligible for DACA in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, and nearly 800,000 nationwide. President Barack Obama created it with an executive order in 2012. President Donald Trump has indicated that he would work with Congress on making it a permanent law.

Young members of St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Ceres had a key role in the rally. One of them, Baneza Cabrera, asked God to watch over “all those who have had to leave their countries and flee from hunger, violence or lack of opportunities.”

DACA allows qualifying young people to get work permits, attend school and take part in other aspects of life with the threat of deportation on hold.

The rally included a march around the block and a performance by Ballet Folklorico Anahuac, a Modesto dance school.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Prayer, dance and hope at DACA rally in Modesto."