[[Americans are about to hold a national election to determine control of the US Congress for the next two years. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are at stake, along with one-third of the 100-member U.S. Senate. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. If Democrats can win a majority in either chamber, it would become more difficult for President Donald Trump and his Republican party to pass their conservative legislative agenda. 

Immigration is among the top issues in the midterm campaign. As a way to get his supporters motivated to vote, President Trump is threatening to close the U.S. border as a caravan of migrants makes its way from Central America through Mexico to the U.S. Decisions on updating immigration laws and funding to build Trump's desired border will be made by the next Congress. Also at stake: the fate of 700-thousand working-age immigrants who are undocumented brought to the U.S. by their parents illegally and raised in America. 

With their future status in doubt, VOA’s Ramon Taylor is in Las Vegas, Nevada, where some of those immigrants are working to make political change in a tight Senate race.]]

((NARRATOR))((Mandatory courtesy: Univision/KINC 15))
Juan Ulises Juárez came to the U.S.from Mexico when he was 10. With a scholarship, he made his way through college. He became a local TV reporter. And in 2017, he won an Emmy.

((JUAN ULISES JUÁREZ, DACA RECIPIENT)) ((Mandatory courtesy: KCLV 2))
"I am actually undocumented. I am a dreamer, I have DACA, and this is very special because of that."

((JUAN ULISES JUÁREZ, DACA RECIPIENT))
"When I got my Emmy award, I wanted that to be part of my speech. I wanted to be in front of all those people, many from English-speaking channels and show them, you know, this is me. This is what DACA made for me possible."

((NARRATOR)) 
Since 2012, when former President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA, 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children have been able to work and live in the country under renewable two-year permits.

President Trump announced an end to the program in September 2017, leaving Congress scrambling to find a permanent solution. More than a year later, with November's midterm elections looming, dreamers like Juárez are still waiting. And other controversies over Trump's policies, such as building a wall and separating immigrant families along the US-Mexico border have eclipsed the dreamers' plight
 
((JUAN ULISES JUÁREZ, DACA RECIPIENT))
"There's always something happening that takes priority. And honestly, they forget about it. They forget about it because it's in the court and they say, Well, they'll get it fixed' or you know, at least they can apply again' or At least they have the renewals, so it's okay, we'll let them have that for now,' and you know, nothing gets done."

((NARRATOR)) 
For Nevada's 13,000 DACA recipients, the 2018 elections may lead to another letdown, but it provides one more fighting chance to be heard. Nevada's Hispanic and Latino residents, who make up 29 percent of the state's population, are paying close attention.

((ALICIA CONTRERAS, MI FAMILIA VOTA))
"The conversation is, my family is under attack. My neighbor's under attack. My friends are under attack. And maybe I'm not an impacted individual, but I still care about those folks because they are a part of my life."

((NARRATOR))
Though dreamers can't vote themselves, some feel they have nothing to lose by making one final push to get voters out before election day.

((ARGELIA RICO, DACA RECIPIENT))
"At least the generation when I grew up, [there] was a lot of dismissing politics, saying that our vote doesn't count. So I definitely am pressuring my friends and having my friends join me on this journey of just trying to instill change."

((NARRATOR))
Ramon Taylor, VOA News, Las Vegas, Nevada.

((SUGGESTED ANCHOR TAG))

[[ Immigration is the top issue in this campaign, according to surveys by Reuters and Pew Research. In the 2016 presidential election, those who said immigration was the most important issue voted for Trump by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. ]]