EL PASO – A 55-year-old Army veteran hunkered down in front of construction crews who were building the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday, halting work for about eight hours before she was arrested.
Judy Ackerman, one of about a dozen people at a peaceful protest east of El Paso on Wednesday, was handcuffed by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers after several hours of figuring out which authority was responsible for removing her. It wasn’t clear what charges she’d face.
Work on the fence resumed immediately after Ms. Ackerman was led away. Before her arrest, the white-haired woman sporting a reflective vest and hard hat cheerfully chatted with authorities. About 20 workers were milling around the site, leaning against heavy equipment and dump trucks and taking pictures of her with their cellphones.
“They have a job to do, but today their job is to take a break,” said Ms. Ackerman, a retired sergeant major who spent 26 years in the Army.
She crossed a canal before workers arrived and took up a position on a levee where large steel poles were being erected. The levee is in a desolate area several miles east of downtown El Paso, near the 370-acre Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.
“They have this wonderful park here, and the wall is messing it up,” Ms. Ackerman said.
She was on land maintained by the International Boundary and Water Commission. Al Riera, the principal engineer for the commission, said officials were notified about her presence early Wednesday and spent several hours trying to figure out what agency should remove her.
The Associated Press
Nonviolent Migration 
January 4, 2009 at 1:53 am
Hi,
My name is Maria and I am a DREAM Act beneficiary. I arrived in this country at the young age of 12, with my parents, from Peru. I am now 21 years old and undocumented. I have grown up in the United States and consider this country my only home. If sent back to Peru, I would be banned from the U.S. for 10 years and the chances of coming back are slim to none. I graduated from high school in 2004 and since then, it has been difficult for me to continue my education as a result of my status. The DREAM Act would help me, and students in my situation, realize our dreams of becoming active members of society by allowing us to attend school or join the military.
Currently, there is an active project on CHANGE.ORG, a website that will present the top 10 ideas that it generates to the Obama administration upon its inauguration. DreamACTivist.org has presented the idea “Pass the DREAM Act Now” (http://www.change.org/ideas/view/pass_the_dream_act_now) and it has gathered enough support to make it to the second round.
YOUR BLOG is the most invaluable tool you have in order to help us,
Starting January 5th, the voting polls will re-open for the second round. We will have 10 days to gather as many votes and support as possible in order to become one of the top 10 ideas that will be presented to the Obama administration. There will be a widget that you can post on your website to allow readers to vote for our cause, as well as tell their friends to do so as well. Also consider voting for the other immigration ideas that made it to the second round, as they also need your support.
Also, DreamACTivist and the United We DREAM Coalition will be launching a website on January 21 (www.dreamact2009.com) that will become a 65,000 petition drive for the DREAM Act, signifying the 65,000 undocumented students that would benefit from this act each year. Please visit http://dreamactivist.org/petition for more information and consider joining our efforts to make the DREAM Act a reality in 2009.
Please, don’t hesitate to contact me with further questions at maria@dreamactivist.org.
In solidarity,
Maria M.
Co-Founder of DreamACTivist.org