No Papers Needed for Power

Democratic Socialists of America-linked organizer Diana Moreno was caught saying undocumented people can still have “power,” a line that will stir alarm among voters who want the border enforced.

Quick Take

Moreno said there are many ways undocumented people can be involved “behind the scene.”
She added that people do not need papers to have power.
DSA’s public record shows a long push for weaker immigration enforcement and broader legalization.
Critics say that message blurs the line between lawful civic participation and illegal status.

What Moreno Said at the DSA Rally

The disputed remark came during a June 11 NYC-DSA rally in New York with Diana Moreno on stage. In the posted recording, Moreno said undocumented people could be involved “behind the scene” and then added that they do not need papers to have power. That message landed inside a long-running DSA argument that treats immigration status as separate from political voice and movement organizing.

The clip matters because it is not just loose activist talk. It matches a wider pattern in DSA messaging that rejects fear-based border politics and frames immigrants as people who should be defended, organized, and politically empowered. DSA’s own materials have also pushed legalization, amnesty, and limits on enforcement. For conservatives, that sounds less like compassion and more like a movement that keeps rewarding lawbreaking while asking taxpayers to absorb the cost.

DSA’s Immigration Record Is Not New

DSA has spent years arguing for a much softer line on immigration. Its program and allied materials call for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, legalizing migration, and granting amnesty to immigrants already in the country. An archived DSA document also says the group favors immediate permanent resident status for all undocumented workers and a non-punitive road to citizenship for those workers and their families.

That history gives Moreno’s comment more weight than a one-off sound bite. Even if the phrase “power” was meant to describe organizing, the larger DSA project is clear: weaken enforcement, expand legal status, and build political strength around immigrant communities. DSA co-chair Megan Romer also drew attention after saying open borders were part of a longer-term plan in media interviews, which only fed concerns that the movement sees border control as a hurdle, not a duty.

Why Critics See a Constitutional and Cultural Threat

Supporters will say immigrants can join unions, attend rallies, and influence public debate, and that is true in any free society. But Moreno’s wording pushes into something sharper: the idea that papers are not needed for power. For many voters, that raises a simple question about rule of law. If citizenship and legal status matter for office, voting, and public trust, then why would a political movement talk as if papers are optional?

That concern explains why the clip spread fast across conservative media and social platforms. Reports about DSA leaders and candidates have repeatedly tied the group to abolishing ICE, ending border enforcement, and giving amnesty to people here illegally. Moreno’s own campaign profile says she is a “movement socialist” and an “immigrant organizer,” which reinforces the impression that she sees immigration politics as part of a larger activist machine, not a neutral policy debate.

There is one important limit here. The supplied record does not include a full official transcript of the rally, so readers cannot verify every surrounding line from the clip. Still, the available evidence is enough to show the core point: Moreno’s words fit squarely inside a DSA worldview that treats undocumented immigrants as political actors, even while they lack legal papers.