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Sanders Staffer Feels Twitter Burn After Criticizing Fellow Dreamer

Bernie Sanders staffer Erika Andiola drew Twitter backlash after criticizing fellow immigration activist Astrid Silva's Hillary Clinton endorsement.
Image: Harry Reid, Astrid Silva
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. embraces Astrid Silva, of Las Vegas, a DREAM Act supporter whose family came to the U.S. from Mexico illegally and whose story has been an inspiration for Reid during work on the immigration reform bill, Thursday, June 27, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Reid carries a folder with letters from Astrid Silva that he read on the Senate floor before the historic vote. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Bernie Sanders staffer Erika Andiola drew Twitter backlash Wednesday after publicly criticizing fellow immigration activist Astrid Silva following her endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

Silva had endorsed Clinton, along with seven other young immigrants who call themselves Dreamers, in an opinion article, saying she was the best candidate to fix the country's broken immigration system.

Like Silva, Andiola also is a Dreamer, which refers to an immigrant who arrived or stayed in the country illegally, usually because they parents also did.

But Andiola criticized Silva's endorsement as a "press hit."

Twitter quickly reacted, coming to Silva's defense with supportive tweets and a hashtag, #ImWithAstrid. Clinton and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., also defended her.

Both Andiola and Silva received deportation deferrals through President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.

Andiola pointed to tweets that carried the hashtag #Families First as supportive of her tweet. Many attacked Silva's assertion in her article that Sanders' immigration policy was unrealistic.

Silva has been active in a Nevada immigration advocacy group. President Barack Obama told her story when he announced his plan to expand deportation deferrals to millions more immigrants. She introduced Obama at a speech in Nevada in 2014.

Andiola was active in protests against Obama's deportation policies and also has pushed for immigration reform through a national group.

Some tweeters used the fracas as an opportunity to bring up Sanders' 2007 vote against an immigration reform bill that has hounded him in the campaign.

In the end, Silva didn't seem rattled by the Twitter clash.

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