Who is Lorella Praeli? Clinton Director Of Latino Outreach Becomes US Citizen

Lorella Praeli, the now-former DREAMer running Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s Latino outreach, became a naturalized U.S. citizen Tuesday during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Praeli, who was previously an undocumented immigrant living in the U.S., drew a lot of attention to the Clinton campaign when she joined her ranks earlier this year.

Praeli’s new citizenship is consistent with what Clinton says she supports on the 2016 campaign trail: equal citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Clinton has made a point of bringing up the issue as she seeks her party’s nomination and renewed the vow to fight for those rights as recently as Monday when she met with an undocumented immigrant and their family before a conference.

Praeli, 27, is originally from Peru but was brought to the United States by her father after a car accident took one of her legs when she was 2-years-old. Her father looked for the best treatment for her and ultimately landed in Orlando, Florida, where her father hoped the Shriners Hospital would accept Praeli even though she had already been rejected. Upon seeing the 2-year-old, she was accepted into the treatment program. The family went back and forth between Peru and Orlando during treatment until they decided that the strain was too difficult and they needed to permanently locate closer to the hospital.

The issue of immigration reform has become a major topic on the 2016 campaign trail, and both sides of the ideological divide have been fighting to show their constituents starkly different messages.

Democrats, including Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have jostled with one another to show that they accept immigrants in the country and respect the rights of undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S.

Many Republican presidential candidates, on the other hand, have taken hard positions against reform plans that include granting amnesty to the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country and have instead focused on security measures to keep unsanctioned immigrants from entering the country. The front-runner for the party, businessman Donald Trump, quickly drew attention to the issue when he announced his candidacy by calling Mexicans “rapists” and criminals.

A majority of Americans favor a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, according to a Gallup poll released in August. In that poll, 65 percent of U.S. adults preferred allowing immigrants to become citizens if they meet certain criteria. A total of 19 percent of adults wanted to deport all of them and 14 percent were in favor of letting immigrants stay for a limited time.