A Poster for Immigration Reform - Shepard Fairey

by DREAM Activist

Published April 29, 2009 @ 05:28PM PT

Famous for the Barack Obama Hope poster, Shepard Fairey has unleased this poster for the portrait of immigration reform.

Since they are attacking and demonizing children and young adults, and separating us from our parents through raids and deportations, it doesn't seem like a far-stretch to remind people precisely who gets affected when we practice 'attrition through enforcement.'

Props to Fairley!

Iranian-Americans for the DREAM Act

by DREAM Activist

Published April 27, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT

"Mohammad" came to the United States with his parents from Iran when he was three years old. Due to a minor immigration technicality, his family's application was turned down, resulting in their "out of status" condition. If the DREAM Act were passed, "Mohammad," who is now 23 could become a permanent resident and would be able to obtain his bachelor's degree in social work and pursue his dream of working in the immigration field.

Read the entire story here.

This student-led grassroots movement is about bridging the gap between our many immigrant communities and at DreamActivist, we are trying to do just that and more by building new alliances. What other national issue has seen Microsoft and labor, queers and the Catholic Church on the same side?

The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans is a non-partisan, non-sectarian, national grass roots membership organization dedicated to bringing our community together to project an accurate and positive image of Iranian Americans.

Today, they have come out in favor of the DREAM Act.

That is one more endorsement for our rights and one strike for the nativists.

Citizenship in Action - Korean Americans Urge Legislators to Support the DREAM Act

by DREAM Activist

Published April 24, 2009 @ 02:04PM PT

Since the beginning of 2009, Korean American youths and community members in Chicago (members of the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center - KRCC) and Los Angeles (members of the Korean Resource Center - KRC) have been leading the national campaign to pass the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act, tailored legislation that would provide a path to legalization for eligible immigrant students who grew up in the United States. As part of their efforts, they have been meeting with key legislators to urge their support for DREAM Act in their local districts as well as in Washington D.C.

“At these legislative visits, students and community members are not only experiencing first-hand what citizenship in action feels like, they are sharing their own personal stories and the deep impact DREAM Act will have on their lives and the lives of their family and friends. By humanizing the issue, our Members of Congress are seeing how invested our community is in making DREAM Act a reality this year. Their response has been very positive and we will continue to work together towards policy change,” said HyunJoo Lee, national organizing coordinator of NAKASEC.

C.K. Kim, a member of KRCC’s youth group FYSH (Fighting Youth Shouting Out for Humanity), joined community members and allies to a visit with Rep. Jan Schakowsky on April 16, 2009, “I was fairly nervous but I knew this was important because if we do not express our concerns with our elected officials, then we cannot make real change. I have friends who are undocumented and I know that if DREAM Act passes, it would mean that they can study and reach their dreams. So that it is why I went and explained to Rep. Schakowsky why DREAM Act was important. I feel like I made a real difference because after our visit, Rep. Schakowsky signed on as a co-sponsor of DREAM Act!”

Jung Jin Kim and his mother joined KRC and others on a legislative visit with Rep. Jane Harman on April 14, 2009. It was their first legislative visit. “I want to help create a society that embraces all immigrants and their contributions to society. That is why I gladly went to visit my Representative to share stories of my friends, and the fact that 1 out of 5 Korean Americans are undocumented, many who are under the age of 18. As a citizen, I think it is important that we all take responsibility to speak up. I am proud to say that since our meeting with her staff, Rep. Jane Harman has indeed signed on as a co-sponsor of DREAM Act!” shared Jung Jin.

Read More »

DREAM Act on CNN

by DREAM Activist

Published April 23, 2009 @ 09:47AM PT

After being showcased by the New York Times yesterday, another representative of United We DREAM fame, Matias of UCLA Underground Undergrads, made his star debut on CNN this morning as a follow-up to the CollegeBoard press conference on April 21.

Later, Ira Melhman (representative from extreme right-wing Hate organization, FAIR) cowardly went after Matias and his parents armed with the same old talking points, knowing that Matias could not be on air to refute his claims.

University seats are competitive but lord forbid that in a meritocracy, the more qualified students get into school over less qualified students! FAIR cannot tolerate that idea of competition--maybe Ira Melhman is living in the wrong country? Ira also had nothing to say about the Master Education Plan that California has, which guarantees enrollment to all qualified students. If the state cannot guarantee that promise, undocumented students are hardly to blame for it.

One would notice that the extremists at FAIR and other sites have absolutely no numbers to back up their claims. They should also take a look at the College Board report that dispels the “undocumented students take slots from citizens” myth:

Beyond the legal argument, a related concern that has been voiced about the DREAM Act is that it could take away seats in colleges and universities, as well as financial aid, from native-born students.  However, this fear is not borne out by the experiences of the 10 states that since 2001 have passed laws allowing undocumented students who attend and graduate from in-state high schools to qualify for in-state college tuition. These states are home to about half of the nation’s undocumented immigrants. Two states — New Mexico and Texas — also allow undocumented students to compete for college financial aid, providing a small but significant minority of them with the opportunity to move on to postsecondary education. Such legislation has not precipitated a large influx of new immigrant students, displaced native-born students or been a financial drain on the education system. In fact, these measures tend to increase school revenues by bringing in tuition from students who otherwise would not be in college.

And there are plenty of statistics available for that as documented in the report. Unfortunately for FAIR and similar hate organizations, there are no statistics or reports available on how instate tuition hurts anyone since the claims are baseless.

Read More »

12 New House Co-Sponsors for the DREAM Act

by DREAM Activist

Published April 22, 2009 @ 02:00PM PT

Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] - 4/21/2009
Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53] - 4/21/2009
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] - 4/21/2009
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - 4/21/2009
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] - 4/21/2009
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] - 4/21/2009
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 4/21/2009
Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. [TX-27] - 4/21/2009
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 4/21/2009
Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] - 4/21/2009
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] - 4/21/2009
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 4/21/2009

These House Cosponsors were acquired during our recess work when we visited and lobbied our representatives. Lets keep up the work. Full list of House and Senate co-sponsors

DREAM Act Students Speak Out in the New York Times

by DREAM Activist

Published April 22, 2009 @ 11:21AM PT

As part of the final article in the Immigration series, the New York Times decided to cover immigrant youth and the DREAM Act:

Legislation (called the Dream Act) sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, would give some of these young immigrants a chance to become permanent residents. It would extend to those who have stayed out of trouble, graduated from high school and either finished two years of college or two years of military service, and there would be a six-year conditional status period.

We’ve asked three immigration specialists what to do about this particular immigrant population, which is estimated at one million people. The discussion also includes the perspective of two young immigrants, Prerna and Nick, who were brought to the United States by their parents and who have been here a decade or more. They asked that their last names not be used because they do not have legal papers.

Please join the discussion in the comments section here.

• Tamar Jacoby, ImmigrationWorks USA
• Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies
• Nick, Dream Act Portal
• Prerna, promigrant.org
• Hiroshi Motomura, U.C.L.A. law professor

Read More »

Not Just DREAMing - University of Florida Students Pass Resolutions; Demonstrate

by DREAM Activist

Published April 21, 2009 @ 10:32AM PT

On April 17, 2009, University of Florida students demonstrated in support for the DREAM Act.

CHISPAS (Coalition of Hispanics Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service) along with other organizations on campus, opened books in the Plaza of the Americas to show symbolic solidarity with undocumented students. 650 books were used to spell out the word “DREAM” where one book is equivalent to 100 students. This is supposed to symbolize the 65,000 students who graduate from high school each year but whose dreams are stopped short because they have little to no option to continue their education and earn a college degree. A press conference was held directly follow the demonstration to announce the Student Government resolution that was passed on April 7th supporting the DREAM Act.

Grey Torrico, CHISPAS President and Founder, is a great supporter and advocate of the DREAM Act. He jubilantly informed us of the successful resolution last week via email:

Last night, the University of Florida made history after, for the first time ever, it passed a resolution dealing with immigration, higher education and undocumented students. I'm, of course, referring to a resolution that was passed in support for the DREAM Act. I am proud to say that I am a Florida Gator now; although we boast the biggest number of students in the state enrolled as well as a highly visible national image that we uphold through football and research, we have never set a precedent for support on any immigration issue on this campus. We have now done so as our Student Senate has resolved it so. We wanted to give you word of this because unbeknowst to you, my friends, you played a pivotal role in this. With all the materials and help that you have sent out to youth activists everywhere, we hope you are proud in knowing that your resolution was used and it was passed. After minor alterations, this well-written document made its way into the chamber of our senate room where no one could find ONE word or phrase that didn't speak the truth. We want to celebrate you in this victory as this was much yours as ours. Although this issue was highly debated for 45 minutes, more than 50 senators voted in favor and only 20 or so voted against. Although this does not mean that war is over, it's a step towards creating awareness and immigrant-friendly schools for students that will eventually be part of them. It is our goal now to use this to move our congressional targets and in particular, Congressman Stearns in order to make him realize how impactful this has been in our campus.

CHISPAS is part of a regional coalition, Social Equality Youth Alliance (SEYA), who is championing the passage of the DREAM Act alongside SWER (Student Working for Equal Rights) at Miami Dade College and the United We Dream Coalition.

More can be found at www.chispasuf.org