DREAM and Act - Setting the Stage for Mobilization
Published April 04, 2009 @ 11:42AM PT
All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible - T.E. Lawrence
Here is a shoutout for Irakere Picon who is organizing for Change at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne. Students around the country are not taking restrictive immigration policies sitting down. At UNC, 40 students walked out to protest the ban against undocumented students from attending colleges. CADENA members and students from Arizona rallied for the DREAM Act, while BAMN rallied for the DREAM Act to commemorate Cesar Chavez Day.
While the Arkansas in-state tuition bill bit the dust, the Colorado instate tuition bill shall make it past the finishing line despite vile hatred from Tancredo and his out-of-state clan of anti-immigrant extremists.
DREAM Act community hearings and mobilization efforts are also being planned in several parts of the country including Washington D.C., California, Texas, Florida, New York and Chicago, to name but a few. We'll reveal more details as they come in.
To get involved and stay updated, sign the DREAM Act 2009 petition.
What Happens When An Undocumented Student Gets In Line?
Published April 03, 2009 @ 11:15PM PT
This post is worth a revisit, especially for those who really don't understand U.S. immigration laws.
This story demonstrates why an undocumented student should not ‘go back’ to petition for a student visa because s/he are most likely to be rejected after years of ‘illegal’ stay in the United States.
AZfamily news asks, is America taking away its own opportunities with a story on a bright student named Daniella Aguado who graduated high school, gained a scholarship to BYU, went back to Mexico to do things the ‘proper way’ and got denied an F-1 student visa. She is now ineligible to see her family, who are still in the United States.
His middle daughter, Daniella, who he calls Danny, graduated from one of the best public high schools in the state. Her academic awards adorning the den walls.
But the US generosity ran out when Daniella went back to Mexico to apply for a student visa for college and immigration officials discovered she had gone to an Arizona school - as an illegal immigrant.
All her hard work was not enough to make up for being snuck into the country… and “sucking up” its resources.
“I don’t know what the problem is, because I was going to pay for school. I was going to pay for housing. I was paying for my books. I wasn’t asking for anything from the government.” says Javier.
See her video here.
I have already written about how ‘getting-in-line’ is exactly what made me undocumented or ‘illegal.’ My own student visa was reject as a child, but I was told to stay on as a beneficiary of an I-130 petition. Read that story here.
Wayne State Passes Resolution in Support of the DREAM Act; University of Michigan to follow
Published April 03, 2009 @ 11:35AM PT
Coming on the heels of the successful push in Maywood, California to pass city council resolutions for the DREAM Act, students and allies in Michigan have also passed resolutions in a show of support.
A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR ENACTMENT OF THE FEDERAL DREAM ACT
WHEREAS:
Every year, American high schools grant diplomas to 65,000 immigrant students who were brought to this country at a young age. Many of these youth have attended U.S. schools for most of their lives, but their immigration status bars them from opportunities that make a college education affordable, including in-state tuition rates, loans and grants, most private scholarships, and the ability to work legally.
The Federal Dream Act would allow undocumented immigrant students to be eligible for federal financial aid and open a pathway to citizenship, and
The Dream Act has four basic requirements. A student must have:
* entered the country before the age of 16;
* graduated from high school or obtained a GED;
* good moral character (no criminal record); and
* at least five years of continuous presence in the US.
The Federal Dream Act has been reintroduced for consideration in Congress this week.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in its November 24, 2008 issue ("Immigration in the First 100 Days?") that Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said, "On [the Federal Dream Act], there's been an agreement between [President-elect] Obama and [Senator] McCain to move forward on that." President-elect Obama and a large bipartisan majority of Congress have repeatedly declared their support for the passage of the Federal Dream Act. Among previous co-sponsors of the Dream Act have been Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Wayne State University Student Council calls on President Barack Obama and Congress to pass the Federal Dream Act, and
The Wayne State University Student Council will send a copy of this resolution to President Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the South End, and the Detroit News and Free Press.
Sponsored by WSU Student Council Members At-Large Joyce Schon and Monica Smith and School of Social Work Representative Shardae Baskin.
The resolution passed unanimously. The University of Michigan is set to follow suit this Tuesday. Contact our Michigan Immigrant Rights Organizer-Mohammad-if you are interested in getting organized in Michigan.
The DREAM Act and Gay Immigration Politics
Published April 02, 2009 @ 03:36PM PT
My parents brought me here without a choice and basically rejected me for being gay… I didn’t know how I was going to survive.
-Ben, an ex-undocumented queer student of color.
See our Guest post for Gay Rights this week and let us know what you think.
The overall point is to work towards pro-migrant reforms in this country that does not exclude anyone. We have many queer Dreamers involved in the battle for the DREAM Act, which makes it necessary not to silence their unique experiences and voices. Lets not keep anyone in the closet against their will.
See A Queer Undocumented Student on the Election of Barack Obama -
For me, there is no dichotomy between the battle for LGBT rights or immigrant rights; it is not just a 'gay issue' or 'immigration issue; it is a human rights issue and as an undocumented queer student, I am caught in the middle of two ensuing culture wars: the battle for gay rights and immigrant rights, neither of which is seen as a civil and human rights struggle by the mainstream.
The Catholic Church, on one hand, stands up strong for the rights of undocumented workers. On the same page, it denounces civil rights for gay couples. Are some human rights more important than others? I didn't get a memo.
I'll trudge on in the meantime as a marginalized Other in both the immigrant rights and LGBT rights movement. At this point, it dawns on me that whether I stay in this country or get deported, my status as an 'Other' in society won't disappear anytime soon.
Speak out today. 10 Actions You Can Take on the DREAM Act. While you are at it, consider checking out the LGBT Immigration Rights Blog and supporting the Uniting American Families Act.
22 more Co-Sponsors Sign On to the DREAM Act
Published April 01, 2009 @ 10:04PM PT
In the House of Representatives -
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 3/31/2009
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 3/31/2009
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 3/31/2009
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 3/31/2009
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 3/31/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 3/31/2009
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20] - 3/31/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 3/31/2009
Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15] - 3/31/2009
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 3/31/2009
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39] - 3/31/2009
In the Senate -
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 3/30/2009
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 3/30/2009
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] - 3/31/2009
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 3/31/2009
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 3/30/2009
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 3/30/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 3/30/2009
The magic number is 60 in the Senate and 218 in the House. Pledge today to get your Senators and Representatives to sign on as co-sponsors!
Applauding the Re-Introduction of the DREAM Act
Published March 31, 2009 @ 03:38AM PT
The immigrant students in the blogosphere are sharing their excitement over the re-introduction of the DREAM Act in a myriad of ways: blogging, giving testimonials, pouring in donations to the Dream Act 2009 cause, joining in on social networking sites such as Facebook and organizing postcard campaigns at the DREAM Act Portal.
Mainstream immigration organizations are all too happy to welcome the DREAM Act as a critical component of immigration reform. After all, it is the most persuadable piece of legislation that garners the most energy and passion from groups that might not otherwise care about immigration matters and have organized around this for so long. Charles Kuck, President of AILA, notes in their press release:
"Enabling these educated, young adults to secure legal status is not only good for them, but also for the communities they live in, and for America. The DREAM Act allows high achieving students, some of the best and the brightest of the next generation, to receive the chance for higher education or military service, and the opportunity to contribute to America in a strikingly productive way. Even in a downturn, our economy continues to need a highly educated workforce and those willing to serve; those with more education contribute more to the tax base and the growth of the U.S. economy."
The Hispanosphere calls it 'bill that just won't go away.' That is true. Struggles for civil rights are neither won overnight nor disappear into thin air after a setback. We aren't going anywhere and the DREAM Act is here to stay.
Why do some 'Progressives' Oppose the DREAM Act? And Why They are Wrong
Published March 28, 2009 @ 01:54PM PT
Several allies and 'immigrant rights advocates' have raised some crucial points that hinder progressive support for the DREAM Act—points that several activist students have had to encounter in the form of artless dissent from leftist intellectuals and liberals.
We are talking about dissenters like the Association of La Raza Educators, Somos Raza, Immigrant Solidarity Network, American Friends and Service Committee, a few Latino immigrant rights activists, respectable bloggers such as XP, and even the National Lawyers Guild that refuses to take a stance on the DREAM Act. Why? They dislike the military provision in the DREAM Act that could make certain ethnic minority students such as Latino kids in the barrios more susceptible to recruitment by military officials. This is not a moot point—it is a cause for concern but it requires several hundred grams of historicizing and perspective.
About Pass the DREAM Act
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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