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Published June 29, 2009 @ 09:47AM PT
Walter Lara, age 23, came to the United States from Argentina 20 years ago. Unless Congress or the Department of Homeland Security intervenes in his case, he will be required to leave the U.S. by July 6th.
Walter, having lived in the U.S. since he was three, speaks English without any trace of an accent. Miami is the only home he remembers. Walter graduated from Miami Central Senior High School in 2004 with a 4.7 grade point average, fourth in his class. He dedicated over 1,000 hours of service to his community.
After high school, Walter attended the Honors College of Miami Dade Wolfson Campus. He earned an Associates of Arts degree in Computer Animation having maintained a 3.7 cumulative grade point average and used this education to do freelance web design. On the side, he has found time to be involved in sports and teach himself many aspects of computing. Walter Lara has never broken the law and continues to be an active and important member of his community. He aspires to work for Pixar as a graphic designer, but without a Social Security number or visa, and therefore unable to attend a 4-year college, he has worked instead as a cable installer for Direct-TV.
On February 17, 2009, he was on his way to Fisher Island for an install when he was stopped by I.C.E. officials. When he admitted to them that he is undocumented, Walter was arrested and jailed for 20 days. He now faces deportation within days to a country he has never known.
Walter can probably get his case re-opened on that grounds that he never received proper counsel. In the meantime, please take the following actions to keep Walter Lara in this country:
1. Sign the online petition
2. Join the support group on Facebook
3. Sign and send this letter to my members of Congress demanding that they do something!!
4. Send a letter of support to mjlacayo@aol.com
In some good news, Senator Bill Nelson is showing his support for Walter Lara and may introduce a private bill on his behalf. But the real solution for students like Walter is the DREAM Act.
Published June 21, 2009 @ 05:11PM PT
With the Capitol Dome behind them, hundreds of youth from all over the country, along with education, faith, business, immigrant and civil rights leaders are expected to participate in a National DREAM Graduation ceremony, hosted by the United We Dream Coalition (UWD).
Each year, 65,000 immigrant students who graduate from U.S. high schools are barred from pursuing their dreams of higher education. Advocates will underscore the importance of advancing the “DREAM Act” and the “American Dream Act” to give these youth a chance to attend college and pursue their goals.
The acts would restore states’ rights to determine residency requirements for in-state tuition and establish a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented youth. The graduation ceremony will recognize the talents and significant academic achievements of immigrant students who would benefit from the legislation, highlighting their contributions and service in local communities.
UWD is an immigrant-youth led coalition committed to supporting immigration reform policies that create a pathway to citizenship, keep families together, and promote the social, economic, and political integration of all immigrants.
9AM - Legislative Training
Location: American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC
12PM Graduation
Location: Lower Senate Park, corner of Louisiana Ave and D St NW, Washington DC
2PM - 5PM - Legislative visits in congressional offices
DC Graduation Facebook Page
Registration for DC Graduation
Link to Map of actions
The national graduation will be live twittered here and videos uploaded to our Youtube and Vimeo
In addition to serving as Master of Ceremonies and doing the closing speech for the graduation, students from DreamActivist have reached out to other organizations and helped arrange solidarity actions across the United States. For more details, see http://www.dreamactivist.org/dream-graduations-coast-coast/
To contact immigrant students, educators or for more information please contact: Tolu Olubunmi (olubunmi@nilc.org) 240-505-5921(c)
Published June 11, 2009 @ 03:50PM PT
On Tuesday June 23, 2009 United We Dream coalition members will be holding graduation ceremonies from coast to coast. The main event will be in Washington D.C., with solidarity events taking place all across the country. Below please find a listing of all of those events and how you can partake in them:
California:
June 23, 2009
11:30 am- 2 pm.
In front of the Los Angeles City Hall
North Carolina:
New Jersey:
New York:
Wisconsin:
Florida:
Texas:
Published June 09, 2009 @ 08:47AM PT
It came to our attention last week that Representative Joe Baca was re-introducing a bill for immigrant high-school graduates called the PROUD Act or ‘People Resolved to Obtain an Understanding of Democracy Act’ (H.R. 2681).
We would like to thank Joe Baca for introducing this bill again as his efforts do demonstrate the support that exists for immigrant youth.
When we called his office to ask for clarification and to see how the PROUD Act related to the DREAM Act and how we could work together, Baca’s staff were unclear - “No, he has not co-sponsored Dream, no they don’t have background info on why he introduced bill…”
After studying the 1-page bill, we have to conclude that the PROUD Act is not a viable alternative to the DREAM Act. We welcome a bill that does not have a military provision, benefits young people, and pushes the DREAM Act further to the Left. But what we have here is a more restrictive measure that alienates more students than the DREAM Act and doesn’t provide the necessary protections needed.
First, the age requirements are too restrictive and arbitrary. The PROUD Act would not benefit the scores of talented and hard-working students that have been working on getting legislation benefiting immigrant youth passed for so many years.
Essentially, the bill would only benefit those ‘alien minors’ who have been here from Grade 6 to 12, completed high school with a civics curriculum, and are under the age of 25 when they file their application.
Goodbye Matias.
Goodbye Tam Tran.
Goodbye Marie Gonzalez.
Goodbye Prerna.
Published June 08, 2009 @ 06:08PM PT
Money, glitz, slogans and numbers.
These are all the important things that the national immigration movement was lacking for quite a while.
Not anymore.
110,000 calls and faxes to Congress in the space of a few days for 'workable solutions that move us forward while upholding our values.'
Yes, they don't address detention issues and it was hardly a place for dialogue. Yes, the slogans are quite empty and ditzy. Yes, they tokenize migrant youth while still realizing our power to mobilize. And yes, they try to co-opt grassroots energy.
But we need an immigration coalition powerhouse. We need these new media approaches. And the immigration reform movement needs some crucial victories.
Follow #RI4A and hold everyone accountable to their actions.
Published June 08, 2009 @ 05:34PM PT
Two graduating seniors are featured in this story:
Three million high school students across the U.S. are receiving their diplomas this month. About 65,000 of them are in the country illegally, most of them in California. But few of those students go to college. Money is a major hurdle for the roughly 6,000 who do pursue higher education, because they're not eligible for most financial aid. We tell the story of two young women, graduating today, who are trying to get to college. Reporter: Kathryn Baron
This is a tough time for DREAM Act students--65,000 of us are graduating from high schools only to be in limbo, unable to move forward with nowhere to go. Contrary to the experiences of documented seniors, graduation is not a rite of passage for undocumented students. For many, it is slamming the door shut, yet another roadblock.
To commemorate and bring attention to this fact, United We DREAM is holding a national DREAM Act graduation day on June 23. Join us in Washington D.C. or in Los Angeles.via DREAM Team LA.
Published June 01, 2009 @ 08:11PM PT
Just wanted to draw attention to this press release from Global Visas:
Minneapolis, MN. (MMD Newswire) June 1, 2009 -- Enquiries from US students have leapt through the roof since President Obama announced his support for the DREAM Act. "I support the Dream Act 100 per cent, in fact, I am fully committed to education, my administration has raised funds to be invested in education because I want more students to have the opportunity to go to college and have better access to resources such as scholarships and loans," - President Barack Obama.
Is this the first clear indication of US immigration reform coming our way?
Globalvisas.com, a world leading Immigration authority, with over a million visitors a year, reports today there has been a significant increase in the number of US students enquiring to study and work in the USA. From just 10 or 20 enquiries a month ago, Globalvisas.com are now receiving in excess of 500 enquiries a week asking about what the future holds for them and the USA.
Motivated students are literally queuing up to take advantage of the Dream Act if it becomes a reality. Liam Clifford, managing director of Globalvisas.com stated today: "The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act will be the first significant act of U.S. immigration reform in USA Immigration for some time. If this is a sign of things to come in USA Immigration it is a very positive sign. For years USA Immigration legislation has been lagging behind the rest of the world in attracting highly skilled individuals which it has relied on in the past to build the economy."
The DREAM Act is drawing support from industry leaders, high profile officials in the government, legal and education sectors, as well as the military, to name a few.
The DREAM Act has the potential to open doors to an estimated 65,000 kids who moved to the USA before their 16th birthday but are currently excluded from the American way of life because they don't have the right paperwork.
Why should these children be held responsible for the actions of their parents?
Liam Clifford went on to says: "During this time, the USA has consistently produced talent that showcases the American Dream on the world stage, people like Google founder Sergey Brin, from Russia, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, from Taiwan, and Intel co-founder Andy Grove from Hungary. Just imagine what America could be denying itself and the rest of world if we do not support the DREAM Act."
It's a widely known fact children of immigrant parents outperform their counterparts in the education system, instead of holding them back they should be encouraged.
Notes to editors
Global Visas is a world leading authority on immigration, providing visa and immigration services to both individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It has offices in USA, Canada, UK, South Africa and India and provides extensive immigration services globally.
For further information, please contact:
Liam Clifford, director, Global Visas
Phone: 44 (0)207 190 3903
Email: liam.clifford@globalvisas.com
Website: www.globalvisas.comMedia Contact:
Gareth McConnell
GlobalVisas.com
+44 (0)207 190 6583
gareth.mcconnell@globalvisas.com
Globalvisas.com
The federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit students brought to the country illegally as children conditional legal status and eventual citizenship.
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