Life By DREAM

Letters to Senator McCain and Senator Kyl from ASU President Michael Crow

2010-09-20T14:47:00.005-04:00

President Michael Crow of Arizona State University has written both Senators John McCain & Jon Kyl, showing unequivocal solidarity with undocumented youth and stating his and the University's support for passage of the DREAM Act:

Senator Kyl, Senator McCain,

"Arizona State University strongly supports the DREAM Act to ensure access to higher education for the thousands of undocumented high school graduates whose ability to obtain a college education is thwarted by our current dysfunctional immigration system. These are students brought to the United States as children, innocents caught up in the middle of the immigration debate. The decision to come to this country was not theirs. But America is the only home they have known and they have spent their young lives being good students, working hard, and staying out of trouble.
Approximately 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from American high schools every year ,often unable to afford college without access to resident tuition or government-backed federal or state financial aid. The ability of these young people to contribute to the economic growth of our country, and to their own self-sufficiency, depends in large measure on their ability to further their education. Around 50% of undocumented students drop out of our high schools despite the fact that educational attainment is one of the most important predictors of an individual's economic success and quality of life.
There is a million-dollar difference, over a lifetime, between the earning capacity ofa high school graduate and a college graduate. Research also shows that people who go to college are healthier, are more likely to volunteer and to participate in their community, and are less likely to be incarcerated or rely on public assistance. Undocumented children in America are guaranteed access to public elementary and secondary schools by a 1982 Supreme Court ruling which held that a state cannot deny a free public K-12 education on the basis of immigration status. Erecting barriers and continuing to restrict the opportunity for undocumented children to have access to an affordable higher education denies them economic, social and intellectual benefits that will serve both them and our nation in the future.
I urge you to consider voting to include DREAM in the DoD authorization bill or in whatever legislative vehicle that it may be attached to or as a stand-alone bill. It has been considered since 2001 and perhaps it is past time for its implementation.
Copies of letters can be found here and here

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Gaby Pacheco

2010-09-15T10:05:00.002-04:00

by kyledeb Crossposted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

I am a member of the first graduating class of Felix Varela Senior High which is located in Miami, Florida. I had attended school with my native-born friends. Like them, I participated in activities, field trips, dances, and felt the pain of losing a classmate.
It was around 10th grade that I realized my future after high school would not be the same as those of my peers even though I worked just as hard to obtain excellent grades. I understood that I was different. For over ten years I had been in hiding. For days I thought about coming out of the closet. I wanted to tell the whole world who I really was. I thought, "How would this affect the relationships with my friends?" "How would I be judged?" "How will my parents be affected?" I thought about it day and night, hoping that someone would help and wondering about the others, like me, out there.

It took a lot of courage, but one day in 10th grade I told everyone: I was an undocumented immigrant.

My teachers couldn't believe it. Some tried to help me, while others mocked me. I still remember one of my teachers yelling across the room, "Hey Pocahontas, why don't you get married?" Sadly, that is the only pathway to citizenship that ever seemed to be available, even after consultations with prestigious immigration lawyers.

Coming into the light had its benefits. Once I was out, I was able to explain my situation to college admissions personnel. In fact, there were several other undocumented students at my school who came to me and shared their secret. One made me promise to help him if I found a way to go to college. One day, I met a Miami Dade College recruiter who helped me enter college. Since then, I've earned three college degrees from MDC, and have represented my alma mater at both local and state levels as the Student Government Association president.

Still, coming out of the closet had its consequences. On July 26, 2006 there was a raid conducted at 6 a.m. in my home, and my parents and sister where detained. Fortunately, I acted quickly and was able to avoid detention. At first, I thought it was a mistake--a coincidence that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had come to my house. It wasn't. My family had to suffer consequences of my decision come out and become a human rights and student advocate. ICE hit me where it hurt the most.

Even though my family is still at risk of being deported, I have worked with organizations that fight for immigrant rights and have kept my family close to me. I know I can count on my friends at the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Students Working for Equal Rights, and Miami Dade College to be the support I need in moments of weakness. Still, Mr. President, you recently told La Opinión "I am a strong ally, like none other has been in the Oval office." If that's true than why are immigrant youth like Saad Nabeel still being deported, and why are our families and communities still being torn apart? Why do so many of us have to live in fear?

What is fear and how do we conquer it? Earlier this year, myself and three other immigrant youth decided to try and conquer our fears by walking 1,500 miles from Maimi to Washington, D.C. in support of the DREAM Act. On this walk, the Trail of DREAMs, we conquered many fears. We have heard too many cases of people being detained for no apparent reason. Police are interrogating people and asking questions about immigration status because they have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE, and are now acting as ICE agents. Once, we were stopped by the police--something that, in many cities, means potential deportation. Without hesitation, we calmly spoke to the police officer, told him what we were doing, and proudly handed him information about the walk. How did I do it without getting deported? Well, in part, because we are not alone. We are together in this struggle. We walk often with shirts that say "UNDOCUMENTED," and we do it proudly--because we are sending an important message: "We are humans too, and we cannot be ignored and exploited anymore."

When we finally arrived in Washington D.C. after months of walking, we tried to meet with you, President Obama, but you refused to do so because we were undocumented. What kind of "strong ally" is this? It is time that you stepped up for us Mr. President and worked to pass the DREAM Act. It is too late to pass comprehensive immigration reform, this year, but we still have a chance at passing the DREAM Act before the November elections. The DREAM Act is one step towards just and humane immigration reform. One we pass it that will empower hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth to start working to better the lives of their family members. That's why it's time that you stepped up to help us make the DREAM Act happen, now. Tomorrow, you're giving a back to school speech. Why not mention the DREAM Act as an integral component of having a more educated workforce that will contribute to our economy? Or, better yet, mention the tens of thousands of immigrant youth who will not be able to attend college this semester because Congress has failed to pass the DREAM Act.

You made calls to several Republican Senators for comprehensive immigration reform, why not do the same for the DREAM Act? Here in Florida, after months of phone calls, letters, and faxes immigrant youth leaders finally met with Sen. George Lemieux (R-FL) who signaled an openness towards moving forward on the DREAM Act. Why not let him know you're serious about moving the DREAM Act forward this year? Even better, why not call the Democratic Senators who voted against cloture for the DREAM Act in 2007--like Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND)--and ask them to vote in favor of it, this year?

This is the only country we know as our home, Mr. President, and we're not leaving. We are Americans in every sense except for the piece of paper that recognizes us as such. For justice, for human rights, for the economy, for America, please, Mr. President, help us pass the DREAM Act.

Sincerely,
Gaby Pacheco

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Chih Tsung Kao

2010-09-08T15:14:00.001-04:00

By kyledeb
Crossposted from Citizen Orange
The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear President Obama,

My name is Chih Tsung Kao. I am 24 years old and am now currently living in Taipei, Taiwan awaiting military service. This is not what I had planned for my life as I entered high school, but it was drastically altered when I found out that I was undocumented at 17.
I arrived in the US on a visitor's visa when I was about 4 years old. My mother had obtained a student visa for me shortly afterwards and moved me to Boulder, Co to live with my grandparents. By the age of 13 my grandparents decided they wanted to retire and move to California. Being raised in Boulder, the only city I've ever known, I decided I wanted to stay and found a friend's parents who would take me in.

I've learned a lot about what it is to be American and to grow up being American from this family. They have been more family to me than my own biological family. I had not lived with my biological parents since I was brought to the US. When I found out about my expired student visa status in high school, I was both ashamed and embarrassed that I couldn't call myself an American. I had felt every bit American as my peers in school, but was not allowed to call myself one due to my lack of papers. My grandparents aren't to blame. They are older and don't know how the system works.

Actually, I'm not too sure a lot of the American citizens know how the system works, how intricate, and how complicated it is to become a citizen and have the freedom that is granted them for just being who they are. My life had two faces then, an American kid doing what kids do, and a depressed individual, feeling alone and unwanted by the country he felt was home. I had never let any of my friends know of my situation until a month before I left for Taiwan.

I graduated from The Colorado School of Mines with a Civil Engineering degree in the spring of '09, and have since decided that I can no longer wait for my life to take a turn for the better by becoming a citizen. I wanted more than anything to be a productive member of society, paying back my debt to society as a working member of the engineering sector. I don't know if I will ever get a chance to fulfill that now.

Currently, I am living in Taipei, and awaiting mandatory military service for all male Taiwanese citizens. Though I know I must fulfill my duties, I feel that this is yet another year of my life delayed, both personally and professionally. I am currently looking for ways back into the United States, but I fear the ten-year bar for overstaying my "welcome" in the US. Due to this bar, I have also considered immigrating to Canada to start a new life in a country as close to the US as possible. Though it may be too late for me, there are still tens of thousands of students and young adults that can benefit greatly from the passing of the DREAM Act. They, if anything like me, simply wish to be contributing, upstanding citizens of the country they know as "home".

Sincerely,

Chih Tsung Kao

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Ahora - Carta Para Barack Obama: Matías Ramos

2010-09-08T15:11:00.001-04:00

By kyledeb on September 7, 2010 9:45 AM Crossposted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

[Editor's Note from Kyle de Beausset: I'm publishing this letter in Spanish without translation in compliance with the wishes of Matias Ramos. For the nativists who bristle in the proximity of anything that isn't in English I say: This is America! Learn more than one language!]

Estimado Presidente:

Lo saludo con respeto y admiración, pero también con una queja y un pedido.

En Abril del 2010, empaqué mi ropa en dos bolsos y deje a mi familia y amigos en California para trabajar tiempo completo en el DREAM Act, un proyecto de ley que usted conoce bien y por el cual he esperado por muchos años. En ese entonces no tenía donde vivir, pero un amigo me presto su sillón por varios meses hasta que pude rentar una habitación. Washington es muy diferente a Los Angeles, en la cultura y el ritmo de la vida cotidiana. La adaptación fue dificultosa, pero recibí mucho apoyo desde todas partes del país de parte de muchas personas que comparten el mismo sueño que yo: ser ciudadanos legales de los Estados Unidos de América.
Cuando empecé a involucrarme con organizaciones de estudiantes indocumentados, no sabía hasta donde me iba a llevar, ni como me apasionaría este movimiento. Pero me motivo porque he visto el talento, el carácter, y la capacidad de esta generación de inmigrantes que ha crecido con recursos muy limitados, pero con potencial tremendo. Miles de soñadores han salido a las calles para demandar sus derechos. Al expresar públicamente que son indocumentados, han arriesgado todo, incluyendo uno de los males más temidos en nuestra comunidad: la deportación. Sin papeles, pero sin miedo, hemos marchado, cantado, y visitado a cada uno de nuestros representantes en el Congreso. También hemos creado una organización nacional llamada United We Dream.

Conocí a muchos de ellos en Febrero, cuando decidimos reunirnos para planear el año. Ya en ese entonces, estábamos muy decepcionados con usted. Parecía que la audacia de la campaña presidencial había sido reemplazada por una timidez y abandono del tema de inmigración. En el discurso presidencial de enero, usted solo dijo 38 palabras acerca del tema que domina nuestras vidas. Al mismo tiempo, su departamento de seguridad nacional autorizaba más deportaciones que nunca, y los líderes demócratas del Congreso no se decidían cuando habría un voto para crear nuevos programas de legalización. Ese día decidimos, en un grupo que incluía inmigrantes indocumentados de 17 estados, que era tiempo de que ya no esperaríamos más.

Por esas cosas de la vida, un día después fui arrestado en el aeropuerto de Minneapolis/ St. Paul por autoridades de inmigración. Ese mismo día, los oficiales de ICE me entregaron papeles de deportación. Gracias al trabajo del movimiento juvenil, me liberaron y transfirieron a Washington, DC. Dos semanas más tarde, recibí una prórroga de un año en mi deportación. El episodio me afectó mucho, ya que nunca había sido esposado ni encadenado en mi vida. También, porque compartí las historias de muchos que no tuvieron la misma dicha que yo. En sí, conocí algunos hombres buenos que estaban siendo deportados. Y pensé también que usted los estaba deportando.

Me acuerdo haberlo visto en Los Angeles, a principio del año 2008. En ese entonces, la mayoría de la gente no lo conocía y nadie esperaba que pudiera ganar la elección. Pero su mensaje de unidad verdaderamente me inspiró, por eso registré votantes en California y Nevada, y les pedí a muchos amigos que votaran por usted. Algunos me han preguntado por que partido deberían votar ahora que vienen nuevas elecciones. Honestamente, no sé.

Lo importante es que voten. Que voten por algunos Demócratas. Que voten por el Partido Verde. Que voten en blanco. Que salgan todos a votar para que nos escuchen de una vez por todas. Pero que no le regalen a ningún político lo que no se merece.

El hecho de que no puedo volver a mi barrio y decirle a la gente que tenga confianza en ninguno de los miembros del Congreso debería recordarle que las promesas que hizo tenían un significado especial. Tener papeles, para millones de Americanos, es un sueño que significaría perder el miedo y ganarse el respeto. Quedan pocas oportunidades de cambiar la corriente anti-inmigrante antes de las elecciones. El DREAM Act (S.729/H.R.1751) es la mejor.

Sinceramente,
Matias Ramos
Alien Number 089708376
United We Dream Network, Board Member

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Saad Nabeel

2010-09-03T12:11:00.004-04:00

By kyledeb. Cross posted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Saad Nabeel and I am writing to you from Bangladesh. Prior to my arrival in this nation, I lived in the United States for 15 years. My parents brought me to America at age three. It is the only home I know. I used to attend the University of Texas at Arlington with a full scholarship in Electrical Engineering. Through no fault of my own I was forced to leave my home, friends, possessions, and most importantly, my education behind.

November 3rd 2009 is a day I will never forget. My mother called me and told me that my father had been detained by ICE and that we needed to leave immediately to Canada to seek refugee status. Being an only child, I had to take care of my mother and go with her.
My mother and I were denied entrance into Canada and sent back to the USA as if we were common criminals. I was separated from my mother and sent to a detention facility where I was forced to live with 60 men, many of whom were hardened criminals. There was no privacy and I was forced to use the facilities and showers while fully exposed. I lived in constant fear of being abused. I was without food for upwards of 14 hours a day and received little to no medical attention. When I asked for legal counsel I was threatened with criminal charges and jail time in a Federal Penitentiary. To this day I still have nightmares about being detained. Everything my parents taught me about human decency was replaced with humiliation. Mr. President I hope you are as outraged as I am hurt by this ordeal.

Bangladesh is extremely hot and humid. We have no air conditioning as the power goes out every day. These power outages can last twelve hours or more. The air is heavily polluted and I get food poisoning every week from the poor quality of food here. Raw sewage flows in open drains in front of our apartment. I see people outside with mangled bodies dying on the street because of the heat and starvation. I see mothers practically giving their children away because they are unable to feed them.

I do not know the language and I fear going outside because I am different from everyone else. Speaking in English is an easy way to be targeted here. We cannot afford to live in a safer area. I have not left the apartment for 8 months. It simply is too dangerous for me to leave the apartment unless my parents go with me. I cannot attend school due to the language barrier. I do not know anyone in Bangladesh.

On top of all this, my parents are both ill and have been for months. My father suffers severe asthma attacks that make him bedridden on most days. My mother has post traumatic stress and cannot accept the fact that she is not at our home in Texas.

These events transpired after we were approved to receive our Green Cards. ICE forced my family to leave knowing that Green Cards were available to us. We have been waiting for our Green Cards for 15 years now.

Mr. President, you are the most powerful man in the world, all I ask from you is to bring me home. All I ever wanted was an education so I could become an engineer. I just want to go home and go back to college. Please don't keep me exiled any longer. Please bring me home.

Sincerely,
Saad Nabeel

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Lizbeth Mateo

2010-08-30T10:23:00.004-04:00

By kyledeb Crossposted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Lizbeth Mateo and I am undocumented. On May 17th, on the 56th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, I, along with Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo and two others, became the first undocumented students to risk deportation by staging a sit-in inside Senator McCain's office in Tucson, Arizona, to demand the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. As a result of that sit-in we were arrested, turned over to ICE, and we now face deportation.
I came to this country when I was fourteen-years-old from Oaxaca, Mexico. It was the late nineties and Mexico was, and is still, facing one of the worst socio-economic and political periods in recent history. For my parents - a taxi driver and a stay-at-home-mom that were struggling to make ends meet- it was clear that they would have to choose between seeing their children starve and get sick, or risk it all, leave everything behind and relocate the family to Southern California with hopes of a better future. In 1998 we moved to Los Angeles and have lived here, since.

Their choice and sacrifice paid-off. I didn't only become the first one in my family to graduate from high school, but a couple of years ago I became the first one in my family to graduate from college. I graduated from California State University, Northridge and I am currently in the process of applying to law school. My dream is to become an attorney and defend the most vulnerable in the courts of law.

Life as an undocumented student has not been easy, it's been filled with tough choices and a lot of uncertainty. At one point I felt like the only way to fulfill my dream of higher education was to leave my family behind and go back to Mexico. But California had become my home and so I chose to stay despite the uncertain future ahead. Against all odds I enrolled in college, and it was there that I first learned about the DREAM Act. From the moment I heard about this piece of legislation I decided to work hard and advocate for its passage. It's now been seven years since that day and the DREAM Act has yet to become a reality.

Despite overwhelming support, Congress has been unwilling to pass the DREAM Act. It is because of that inaction that earlier this year I had to decide whether committing civil disobedience would be worth the risk of being forcibly separated from my family, and deported to a place I no longer consider home. I made a choice, forced in part by the lack of courage from our leaders in Congress and inspired by your call to change, the "change [that] will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time." Just as I had chosen to work on your campaign inspired by what you said, that "we are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek," I also chose to face my fears, to risk it all, to seek that change, and sit-in so that the DREAM Act could stand alone.

Some say that destiny is not a matter of chances but one of choices. My life and that of my fellow Dreamers has been filled with tough choices, some made by us and some made by others on our behalf. Two months after five of us chose to risk it all for our futures, because we knew that without the DREAM Act we had no future, twenty-one others chose to risk it all for a dream that belongs to us as much as it belongs to our families, our communities, and our home - the United States of America.

I firmly believe that we have made the right choice - to stand up for what we believe in and to try to fulfill the promise of the great American Dream that brought us here in the first place. I firmly believe that we, the undocumented youth, are standing on the right side of history. Now I ask that you stand with us by making the right choice. Help us pass the DREAM Act immediately. Help us free our DREAMs, which have for too long been held hostage to political rhetoric and insensitive choices by a few that have yet to recognize the potential that we have as young, educated people.

Mr. President, staying strong and facing my challenges with courage and dignity while I wait patiently is no longer an option, it's no longer a choice I can make because I played the last card I had, and my time is running out. I put my life on the line in order to have a chance at a future out of the shadows. Now the DREAM Act is the only chance I have to stay home. Please help us pass the DREAM Act so that no more youth have to risk it all by putting their lives on the line.

Sincerely,
Lizbeth Mateo

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Myrna Orozco

2010-08-27T09:26:00.003-04:00

By kyledeb // Crosposted from Citizen Orange
The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

On July 20th, 2010 I was arrested in the office of Senator John McCain fighting for the DREAM Act.

I am one of the thousands of students who would qualify for this legislation. I was brought to the United States at the age of four and have been here ever since. I consider myself to be a good student and I always strive to be a good example for others. I have been waiting for the DREAM Act to pass since it was first introduced in 2001, and this year I decided that I couldn't stand by and wait another year. I decided to fight for my DREAMs.
I can no longer watch as politicians gamble with my future and the futures of my friends, family, and even strangers who are in the same position as I am. This is why I, along with 20 other DREAMers decided to take action and fight for what we believe is right; thus, we decided to conduct sit-ins at various senators offices and urge them to take action on the DREAM Act. We can not stand by as another class of outstanding students graduate without being able to fulfill their DREAMs.

I have been taught that America is the land of opportunity yet I have been denied the opportunity to contribute back to society and continue with my education. I put my life on the line by participating in this action but I strongly believe it is worth it, because all I'm asking for is an opportunity to DREAM.

Because of the sit-in I have to return to Washington DC for my trial on October 1st, 2010. During the trial I will continue to fight for what I believe is right. I need to be able to make it back to DC for this date, however, I'm running out of funds. Please help me continue my fight so that I can make it back to DC for my trial on October first.

If I can't make it by then I'll have a warrant for my arrest and the risk of deportation will be higher. I don't want to go back to a country that I don't know. America is my home, the country I would fight for, the country I would die for. Please help me remain with my family and friends. Please help me stay home.

Thank you so much for your contribution,

Myrna Orozco

NOTE: You can help Myrna by donating here:

http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/d8f8e436badaf941

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Carlos A Roa, Jr.

2010-08-25T16:07:00.002-04:00

By kyledeb
Cross-posted from Citizen Orange http://www.citizenorange.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/917

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Carlos and I'm a 23 year old undocumented immigrant from Caracas, Venezuela. I want to legalize my immigration status in this country through the passage of DREAM Act this year. For too long have I lived in the U.S. without papers. It has been over 20 years, now. I want to legalize my immigration status in order to fulfill my dreams of becoming a young professional in architecture.
There are obstacles in my daily life that make it extraordinarily difficult to pursue a career in architecture. Fortunately, because of my determination to continue my studies after graduating high school in 2005, I'm currently a student in Miami Dade College. It has not been without great difficulty. For many years it felt as if all the potential I developed in high school was for nothing.

I am the perfect example of other students in similar situations whose voices have been silenced by the fact that we are not truly accounted for. We are afraid of speaking up because doing so might affect our immigration status in this country and possibly even lead to deportation. I myself felt this way for several years, but after dealing with my status for so long, I now consider it a duty to speak up for myself and for other youth in my shoes.

I remember that dark and cold feeling of shame, fear and hopelessness.

After the death of my mother--the person I was closest to in my life--I'd constantly ask myself what is to come of me? Where is my life going? If it wasn't for her strength and desire to see me succeed, I would not have devoted myself to this cause in her memory. If it wasn't for her love--her incredible affection transcending my existence--I would not have been able to conquer the fear of being undocumented. My love of humanity has manifested itself through the fight for immigrant rights.

That's why I was one of four undocumented youth that participated on a 1500 mile walk from Miami, FL to Washington D.C. known as the Trail of Dreams.

I encourage you to present this letter U.S. Congress, Mr. President, so that the voice of one undocumented immigrant echoes the voice of millions. I hope that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus can have the vision to push for the DREAM Act this year. It would be be a dream for so many families, fathers and mothers just like mine, to see their children on the path towards legalization and professional degrees.

I consider it a colossal loss for society that young Americans, such as myself, find it extremely difficult to continue our studies after high school graduation. We are unable to work legally, unable to join the Armed Forces, unable to legally obtain a driving license, and unable to apply or receive most scholarships. Economically supporting our families under these circumstances is impossible.

Our legalization would greatly contribute to our communities and make this country a better place. As young professionals we would open businesses, create jobs, pay taxes, and play a much stronger role rehabilitating the economy, just like any other hardworking U.S. citizen.

Please give us the opportunity to contribute to the only country we know as our home, Mr. President. Please step up and help us pass the DREAM Act, this year.

Sincerely,
Carlos A. Roa, Jr.

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Recap - Latino, LGBT, Migrant Youth, and Progressive Bloggers Lead For the DREAM Ac

2010-08-21T14:03:00.001-04:00

By kyledeb on August 20, 2010 12:07 PM
cross-posted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

It's been one month since the DREAM Now Series started, and it's been far more successful than I had ever imagined. DREAM Now Letters have been cross-posted and mentioned by a wide selection of bloggers. Those blog posts, in turn, have been viewed, shared and retweeted tens of thousands of times.
As always when it comes to pro-migrant blogging, Latin@ blogs are at the vanguard led mostly by the strong and talented Latina bloggers at Latino Politics Blog, Latina Lista, and Vivir Latino. Time and time again, Adriana Maestas, Maegan "La Mamita Mala" Ortiz, and Marisa Treviño have stood on the side of migrant youth when few others would. They have gone above and beyond in cross-posting the letters of migrant youth.

It is within the pro-migrant online spaces largely created by Latin@s that undocumented youth bloggers have been able to thrive, connect, and organize. Though I haven't had as much time to reach out to DREAMers to cross-post these letters online, and many DREAMers are too busy organizing to blog and tweet these days, I love that both of the migrant youth blogs Life By DREAM and Migrant Headlines have been cross-posting the DREAM Now Letters, regularly.

There's a new group of pro-migrant bloggers that have recently been added to this coalition for the DREAM Act. As any migrant youth leader will tell you, just as racism is inextricable from nativism, so is the LGBT movement inextricable from the migrant youth movement. A disproportionate number of migrant youth leaders identify as queer.

So while national immigration reform groups have sometimes made the "strategic" decision to downplay LGBT immigration concerns in order to appeal to the religious right, that has simply never been an option for the migrant youth movement. Doing so would mean neglecting the very souls of some of our strongest leaders: among them Mario Rodas, Mohammad Abdollahi, Tania Unzueta, and Yahaira Carrillo.

That's why I'm happy to report that the decision to model these DREAM Now Letters after a similar campaign by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to raise awareness around repealing the military's discriminatory "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy has been graciously received. Above all, the greatest honor of this campaign, has been the fact that Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend has been consistently front-paging the DREAM Now Letters. Pam is easily one of the best bloggers on the web and her support of the DREAM Now Letters is huge. Finally, a lasting symbol of the unity between the migrant youth movement and the LGBT movement will always be the demonstrations by both Lt. Dan Choi and four DREAMers during Harry Reid's speech at Netroots Nation.

Last but not least, the broader progressive blogosphere has also been supporting the DREAM Now Letters in a way that would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago. Crooks and Liars has been leading the Progressive blogosphere with their support of the DREAM Now Letters. Daily Kos has linked to DREAM Now Letters diaries on their front-page. While Firedoglake has not front-paged any DREAM Now Letters, FDL has consistently been the mainstream progressive blog that is most supportive of migrant youth through their publication original pro-migrant content. There's still a lot of work to be done in the progressive blogosphere. Progressive blogs, arguably, have the largest audience that needs to be educated about the DREAM Act.

Now is not the time to fall off. A month has gone but we still have as much as a month and a half to go before we have a chance at getting a vote on the DREAM Act. The DREAM Now Letters have become crucial in flooding the internet with content about the DREAM Act and informing others who otherwise might not have heard of it. I have a to do a better job at both consistency and outreach, and I've think I've started to get to a point where that's going to be easier for me to do. Any and all help from others is appreciated.

Below is a list of everyone who has consistently published or linked to DREAM Now Letters.

DREAM Letters Publishers:
America's Voice
Crooks and Liars
Culture Kitchen
Democracia Ahora
Docudharma Doing My Part For The Left
Latina Lista
Latino Politics Blog
Life By DREAM
Migrant Headlines My Latino News
Nuestra Voice
Pam's House Blend
The Kite
Vivir Latino

DREAM Letters Mentions:
Change.org
Daily Kos
Deportee's Wife
Hispanic tips
House of Grant
Imagine 2050
Immigration Talk With A Mexican American
La Frontera Times
Michigan Liberal
Michigan Messenger
Mom's Rising
Mother Talkers
Para Justicia Y Libertad
PolitiFi
Regator
Restore Fairness
Roots Wire
TV Realist

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Selvin Arevalo

2010-08-18T10:33:00.001-04:00

By kyledeb on August 18, 2010 9:47 AM
Crossposted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

[Note from Kyle de Beausset: Selvin wrote this letter right before he got into a minor car accident on April 9, 2010. He was set to get his high school diploma in June but has been in detention ever since. I have chosen reproduce Selvin's letter as I found it in his empty room, rather than polish his slight grammatical errors, to allow his character to shine through.]

Dear President Barack Obama,

From the bottom of my heart, I plead to my God that you and your entire family receive blessings from the highest God while you are reading this letter. I admire and thank you for the great labor that you are fulfilling as a president in this big nation. My name is Selvin Ovidio Arevalo. I came to this country when I was 15 years old. I came from Guatemala to this country to fulfill my dreams because I always have believed that this is a country of many opportunities for those whom want to succeed.

Since I came to this country, I have been going to school to learn and enhance my English. Three years ago, I enrolled with Adult Education in Portland, ME, for my high school diploma. Finally, in this June 2010, I shall have my high school diploma. I am already enrolled in college transition. I wish that at the end of this yar, I can go to college, but what concern me about is getting financial aid. I cannot qualify for any financial aid because I am not legal in this country. The reason that I write you is to plead you for a solution to my problem. I have been a Christian since I was a kid. For eight years, I have been praying to my God to touch the heart of the leaders of this country to provide me legalization. I think that I have three important reasons for why I want to be legal in this country. First reason: I want to go to college and have a degree of computer science and more. Second: I am one of the leaders of a Christian church in Portland, Maine. I am the treasurer of the church, a musician; I play instruments in the chorus of my church, and a youth leader. Third: I have not seen my family (parents, sisters, and brother) for eight years. I have shed tears for them, but I am waiting until a legalization to go to see them.

I appreciate and thank you for spending your time reading this letter. Once again, I plead you for a solution to my problem. My faith is great; I believe that one day I am going to be legal in this country. Then my dreams will become true. Once again, thank you for your good will and I hope you have a wonderful time. May the peace of God be with you forever and ever!

Sincerely,
Selvin Arevalo Ovidio

How you can help Selvin:

Right now, the focus should still be on stopping the deportation of Ivan Nikolov, but if you would like to stay up to date on Selvin's case you can:

1. "Like" his Facebook page
2. Join the Facebook group "We Are Selvin"
3. Follow Citizen Orange for more updates

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Yves Gomes

2010-08-16T18:06:00.001-04:00

crossposted from Citizen Orange
By kyledeb on August 16, 2010 3:20 PM

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear President Obama:

My name is Yves Gomes. I am 17 years old and I just graduated from Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, MD this June. Under the grace of God I was able to do well in my studies all my life and I graduated in the top 5% of my class and got into University of Maryland College Park and a handful of other colleges. However until today I had an order for deportation from this country on August 13, 2010, a few days from now.
I spent the last year restlessly awaiting my unknown future. But today, thanks to the work of my lawyer, Mrs. Cynthia Groomes Katz, the help of the media (e.g. Ms. Andrea McCarren of WUSA9 TV) Organizations such as the We Are America project of the Center for Community Change and my family and friends, I was able to get Deferred Action after subsequent to Stays of Removal, and now I am ecstatic because I can stay in the United States.

I came to this country from India with my mom on tourist visas when I was barely more than a year old. I was born in India but I have never been back to visit nor do I remember anything about the life there. As far as I can remember, my earliest memories came in America and I consider myself American. I grew up all my life here, completing my grade school education and assimilating into the American culture, which is so rich and diverse. My parents always told me to be grateful and realize how great the opportunities are in America, which is a sharp contrast of the life they described in the less developed countries where they came from, India and Bangladesh. My parents were deported back to their home countries last year. But with their words in mind, I continued to pursue my childhood goal to finish high school and get a scholarship into a college. I did achieve my goal, but it was devastating to see it escape me as I could not accept any of the college offers because of my status and my looming deportation.

All that changed today when I was granted a deferral, and with the deportation now on hold I can continue my life here in the US. Over the last few months fighting my deportation I learned that there are other young adults in the US who have received the same deferral of removal I received, but also that there are thousands of other students out there who are in similar and worse situations than mine and who don't have as many resources to receive help. I learned that the reason I was able to get an extension and keep my dream alive is because of the countless efforts made by my family, friends, attorney, community, organizations, and the willingness of the US government to comply with the efforts. This illustrates how the US is different from any other country in the world, because the government is willing to listen to its people when something is wrong.

Mr. President, it is clearly wrong that there continue to be so many promising young adults who are prevented from achieving their full potential simply because they don't have the right papers, trumping a bright, ambitious mind. To correct this wrong we need to pass the DREAM ACT.

Sincerely,

Yves Gomes

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Stop Ivan Nikolov's Deportation

2010-08-12T10:36:00.001-04:00

By kyledeb on August 11, 2010 9:19 AM
Crossposted from Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

In May, my mother and I were picked up in an immigration raid in our home. I was told that in 2002, when I was just 12, I missed a court date at which I was ordered removed from this country. I've been in detention for three months, now, awaiting my deportation. My mother was deported on Friday, August 6th, and I'm set to be deported any day now.
I immigrated to the United States from Russia when I was just 11 years old. My mother married a U.S. citizen who is the only father I know. I do not remember much about the journey to America, nor did I even know I was undocumented until I was 15 and asked my parents about getting a driver's permit. This is the only country I know as my home and I don't know what I would do if I were deported, now.

I am a long-time resident of Michigan. I have a fiancée who has been with me for over three years. It would be a great loss to her and to my community if I were deported.

In Russia, it would be difficult for me to survive. I barely speak the language and I have very little family there. I dream of studying film or music. I love my pets and my many friends in the U.S. I want to be able to see them again. Please take action now to stop my deportation.

Sincerely,
Ivan Nikolov

Please do the following to help Ivan:

1. Sign this petition to DHS
2. Send a fax to DHS
3. Call Janet Napolitano, Director of the Department of Homeland Security (202-282-8495)
4. Call John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (202-732-3000)
5. Call Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and ask him to lead on getting the DREAM Act passed this year (202-224-6221)
6. Call Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and ask her to co-sponsor the DREAM Act (202-224-4822)

When calling ICE please be very polite and say something like this:

I am calling to leave a message of support for Ivan (A#078-251-095) who is going to be deported any day now. I ask that Director Morton please step in to defer his deportation, he is an asset to this country. Thank you.

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters: David Cho

2010-08-09T11:04:00.002-04:00

DREAM Now Letters: David Cho
crossposted from Citizen Orange
By kyledeb on August 9, 2010

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is David Cho and I'm undocumented.

I will be a senior studying International Economics and Korean at UCLA this upcoming Fall. While most of my friends will enter the workplace after graduation, I will not be able to even put my name down on a job application because of my status. I'm a hardworking student with a 3.6 GPA and I am the first Korean and actually the first undocumented student to ever become the conductor, the drum major of the UCLA Marching Band in UCLA history.
My parents brought me to this country when I was only nine years old. I went to school not knowing a single word of English, and I often became my classmates' object of ridicule - many bullies perpetually and ignorantly harassed me. My reaction to this harassment was to study harder, for I was determined to overcome my obstacles and excel in everything that I did. I studied hard and graduated from my high school with a 3.9 GPA.

It was not until my freshman year of college when I found out about my immigration status. I asked my parents for my social security number when filling out my application for UCLA. There was a long pause. That day, I found out that, after eight years of going through the process, our family visa had expired because our sponsor had mismanaged our paperwork.

Unable to receive any state or federal financial aid due to my status, I work 20 hours a week tutoring high school students while maintaining a high GPA and leading the UCLA Marching Band as their Drum Major.

Mr. President, I feel like I'm living inside an invisible prison cell; these invisible bars block me from doing things, while my U.S. citizen friends can glide right through. I want to serve in the Air Force after graduation. I want to attend Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and I ultimately dream of becoming a U.S. Senator because I want to serve and change this country for the better. This is the American dream I want to achieve, but I am unable to fulfill it because of my status.

I have come out publicly on CNN and on C-SPAN. I'm taking a huge risk in doing so (because I could be deported) but I believe it is a greater risk to be silent in the face of oppression and injustice. This country is throwing away talents every minute, every second. You and I clearly know that our immigration system is broken, but the DREAM Act can bring thousands of students out of the shadows and allow them the opportunity to work for the country that they truly love, right now. It is more critical now, than ever.

I know you have shown your support for the DREAM Act, but I sincerely ask that you take some real action to make sure Congress passes it this year.

Sincerely,
David Cho

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters: Stop The Deportation of Marlen Moreno

2010-08-04T19:03:00.002-04:00

Crossposted from Citizen Orange
By kyledeb on August 4, 2010 10:50 AM
DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Marlen Moreno and I am undocumented. I am also a possible beneficiary of the DREAM Act. On Sunday, August 8, I will be deported.
I was born in Nacozari, Mexico in 1984. My parents brought me to the United States when I was only 13 years old. We were searching for a better life and we found it in Tucson, Arizona. Despite being born in Mexico, I don't consider myself Mexican. I have been living in this country for over thirteen years. The United States is my country and Arizona is my home.

My parents have always told me to value education. I remember them telling me that they came to the United States, "the country of opportunity," so I could live a better life than they did. I never took their sacrifice for granted. In 2002, I became the first and only member of my family to graduate from high school. I was proud of my achievements but scared that I could not go any further. Because of my status, I was not able to continue with my education. My goal is to become a pre-school teacher, because I believe education is the key to success. I want to help children achieve their full potential from a young age, so they can continue to excel in every aspect of their lives.

Despite my goals of higher education, I was forced to put them aside and work as an assistant cleaning houses and a maid in a hotel. This was not what I wanted to do with my life, but I was thankful for any job I was able to get. For four years, I worked hard to support myself and help my family financially knowing that someday I would be able to live out the American Dream.

In 2007, my first son was born, Freddy Alan. Thanks to him, I came to know what it means to be a mother. I never knew I could be this happy or love someone as much as I love him. I went back to work soon after his birth because I wanted to provide him with everything he deserved.

On March 28, 2008, my son and I were awakened by a loud bang on our door. Before I could fully figure out what was happening, ten heavily armed deputies came into my house and arrested me because I am undocumented. I was taken to jail and held without bail.

I was detained for over four months, when I was finally released and allowed to reunite with my son once again. When I came home, after four and a half months, I realized how much I had missed. My son had turned one and he had learned how to walk while I was in jail. It pains me to know that I never saw his first crawl, the first time he sat up, learned to play, his first bites of real food, or when he took his first steps. But what pains me the most is the fact that he didn't recognize me, his own mother, after I got out of jail. It still brings tears to my eyes knowing my own son didn't know who I was. It took us months to come back together, like we had been before we were separated.

I try not to think about the way I was treated during this time. I had been treated like a criminal, as if I had robbed a bank when all I was doing was working to provide for my son and my family. It was not the same America I had grown up knowing.

In 2009, I met my husband and we married. He came into my life at a time when I needed him the most. He provided the support and love that I needed, and I will never forget that. In November of 2009, I had my second son, Leobardo Jr. My husband is a Lawful Permanent Resident and both of my sons are citizens. I am the only person in my family who is undocumented, but I still cannot legalize my status.

For the past year I have been fighting my deportation but now I am at the end of that fight and I am being told I must leave the United States by August 8th. I cannot think about being separated from my husband and my sons. I don't want to think about going back to Mexico, a place I don't consider my home.

I consider myself an American. This is where my husband and my children are and I don't want to be separated from them. I want to continue living my life in this country and I want to contribute back. I am not a criminal. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter. I am a human being.

Please act to stop my deportation and to pass the DREAM Act now so that I can have a chance at a life in the only country I know as my home, later. I only have 3 days before I'm deported. This is what I need most urgently from you. Please:

1. Sign the petition for asking for me to stay
2. Send a fax to DHS to ask them to allow me to stay
3. Call Janet Napolitano, Director of DHS at 202-282-8495 and leave a message in support of me. This is an answering machine that fills up by the end of the day, so please fill it up with support for me.
4. Call John Morton, Director of ICE, at 202-732-3000 leave a message urging him to take action and defer my deportation. This is a live comment line that will be picked up by a real human being so please be very polite

For both calls you can say something along the lines of:

"I am calling to leave a message of support for Marlen Moreno (A#88-771-833) who is being deported on August 8th, I ask that Director Morton please step in to defer her deportation, she is an asset to this country. Thank you."

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM wrap-up. If you're interested in getting involved or posting these stories on your site, please email Kyle de Beausset at kyle at citizenorange dot com.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don't even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver's license, want to join the military, or apply to college. DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word -- except on paper. It's been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced. If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

DREAM Now Letters: Tania Unzueta

2010-08-03T11:04:00.002-04:00

crossposted from America's Voice & Citizen Orange

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Tania Unzueta and I'm undocumented.

I have lived in Chicago since I was 10 years old. I came with my mother to join my father, who had found a stable job and a promise to legalize his status. Eventually our tourist visas ran out, and my family became undocumented.

For years we lived in a small basement, then a small apartment. When we moved here, my dad had been offered a job with the promise of regularizing his status through employer sponsorship, 245-i. Our family was going through that process when the workers began to organize a union, and asked for the support of my dad. He gave it to them, which resulted in his dismissal from his position, and an end to the sponsorship.

I too have tried and failed to regularize my immigration status. When I graduated from high school I went to Mexico to try to apply for an international student visa, so that I could attend the colleges to which I had been accepted. Even though I was the captain of my swim team and an honors student, my visa was not accepted. Eventually I was able to get a humanitarian visa to come back to Chicago. I pinned a lot of hopes for my future on the 2003 DREAM Act. It failed. I hoped again in 2007- to the same result. Ever since then I have only tried to do the best I can with my life, trying to have a balance between being happy, giving back to my community, and working for the passage of the DREAM Act.

I was there with the DREAM Act 5 in John McCain's office when three undocumented youth made history as the first undocumented immigrants commit civil disobedience and get detained with the aim of changing U.S. immigration law. I was also one of the DREAM Act 21 to get arrested, for the second time in U.S. history, on Capitol Hill in a mostly successful effort to get Congress shift towards taking up the DREAM Act this year (any and all help offsetting the costs of attending our court date is appreciated, by the way). How many more youth will have to detain themselves before Congress passes the DREAM Act? How many more lives have to be put on hold or lost to the shadows before our leaders act?

The time to pass the DREAM Act is now. Please join us.

Sincerely,
Tania Unzueta

DREAM University!

2010-07-15T15:01:00.005-04:00

On July 14, 2010, “the gates to higher education opened wide, as all those Dreams deferred are accepted and cordially invited to Washington DC to be the inaugural class of DREAM University”. Sponsored by United We Dream Network, and preceding the National DREAM Graduation, it is the kick off to a mass mobilization intended to pressure Congress to pass the DREAM Act before the August recess. The youth attending Dream University come from all walks of life, citizens, immigrants and undocumented, and to many, being there represents a hardship and a sacrifice, and indeed a risk. DREAMers came to the U.S. as children and grew up as Americans, and their only wish is to be allowed to fully contribute to the only homeland they know. Many of them dream of serving the military. Others would be teachers, nurses, policemen, doctors and scientists. But due to their immigration status, there is currently no way to make their hopes and dreams come true. DREAM University will provide attendees with the tools and strategies to lobby Congress and increase public support of the cause. If you would like to attend or participate, please contact carlos@unitedwedream.org. If you can not attend you can donate at ourdream2005@gmail.com. Please also take the time to sign the DREAM Act petition if you have not already.

PASS THE DREAM ACT NOW!

ASU president pushes for passage of 'Dream Act'

2010-06-29T11:22:00.001-04:00

Arizona State University President Michael Crow is pushing for passage of a federal law that would enable illegal immigrant students to remain in the United States, get their college degrees and have a path to citizenship. The bill, called the "Dream Act," has been introduced several times in recent years but has not been approved by Congress.
Crow sent a two-page letter recently to four U.S. senators who are supporters of the legislation and/or in leadership roles in the Senate. ASU officials said they also sent the letter to some other members of Congress, including those from Arizona.
It was signed by eight other university presidents, including Mark G. Yudof, president of the University of California system, and Charles B. Reed, president of the California State University system. The letter urges Congress to pass the measure as stand-alone legislation or as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
The letter says that undocumented high school graduates who want to obtain a college education are being thwarted by the country's dysfunctional immigration system.
"These are students brought to the United States as children, innocents caught up in the middle of the immigration debate," the letter says. "The decision to come to this country was not theirs. But America is the only home they have known and they have spent their young lives being good students, working hard and staying out of trouble."
The letter goes on to detail the benefits of a college education: higher wages, lower crime rates and less likely to end up on public assistance.
Over the past year, various college presidents have come out in support of the Dream Act, including Harvard President Drew Gilpin, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutman and Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow, among others.
The latest version of the "Dream Act," introduced in March 2009 would apply to people under age 35 who entered the U.S. before age 16 and have been in the country at least five consecutive years. They have to graduate from a U.S. high school, or have obtained a GED or be accepted at a college or university. They also have to be of "good moral character," although the legislation doesn't define exactly what that means. Students would get conditional permanent residency, meaning they couldn't be deported for being here illegally while they are in school. They would eventually be able to apply for legal residency and then to be a U.S. citizen.
The letter signed by the college presidents asks Congress to go a step further and allow Dream Act students to be eligible for federal financial aid. Illegal immigrants currently cannot get federal financial aid, such as federal student loans or Pell grants, to attend school.
The letter was also signed by presidents from the University of Washington, the University of Minnesota, the University of Utah, Washington State University, the University of New Mexico and Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich.
The letter was sent to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the sponsor of the 2009 Dream Act legislation, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana). Durbin sponsored the legislation and Lugar and Schumer are co-sponsors.
crossposted from LiveWireBlog/azcentral.com

Call to Action: Mass DREAM Mobilization in Washington D.C. on July 19th-21st

2010-06-29T11:06:00.001-04:00

The time to mobilize and demand the dream act is now. We have a short window of opportunity to pass the Dream Act in congress. Over the course of the last two years we have been successful in building up our collective base and now more than ever, we need to show our collective power as immigrant youth. We have been able to accomplish many things including securing 40 co sponsors in the Senate and develop Dream Teams in places that have never had a base before. All of this work, all of the petition signatures you gathered and sent in are now bearing fruit. All of the rallies you attended to meet new people, all of the lobby visits and relationships you built are now critical for passage of the Dream Act. Make your work count now! Come to Washington D.C. between July 19^th and the 21^st for three days of escalation and action on Capitol Hill.

Join us for a mass mobilization for the DREAM Act on Capitol Hill from July 19-21st

Dont know how to get started? Follow the steps below to get started

Individuals:

If you are an individual:

talk to friends and family and get them to come to D.C. with you.

Check out the Dream Map to see if there any youth projects near your area and contact them to see if you they will be mobilizing to DC

Youth Groups

If you are working in a group try to organize a caravan to D.C. There are several being planned across the country. Register on our website and we can follow up with you by connecting you to a group near you.

Organization

If you are a part of an organization try to organize a bus delegation to D.C! Register your organization on our registration form and we will follow up with more information and logistics.

REGISTER NOW

Get Ready Cause We're Coming Back

2010-04-01T19:12:00.010-04:00

Two weeks ago, over 200,000 people of all colors, creeds, and socioeconomic levels, from all over our nation, marched on Washington to deliver a simple message: Mr. President, members of Congress, we want the change you promised us.

That such a large amount of people should gather in a peaceful and orderly manner is an accomplishment in and of itself. We have testament of the power of the march in Nezua's moving, beautiful video. It was an amazing experience for all that participated;our own DREAM Act cohort was represented by hundreds of students from all over the nation. For myself, it was a chance to finally meet face to face many of the amazing DREAMers I have gotten to "know" online over the past two years.

However, if like me you surfed TV and the net that night looking for coverage,to judge the amount of coverage the national media gave the March for America, it might as well have been a few hundred rather than hundreds of thousands. Insulting when you consider the coverage given to every half assed teabagger gathering. But healthcare legislation passed that night, so we ended the day with hope.

But right now, my patience and hope is wearing a little thin. While Congress keeps playing politics with people's lives, detentions and deportations are on the rise, and we have tragedies like Gustavo Rezende's; as his hopes and dreams died so did his will to live. I will not stand for any more losses. So get ready,Mr. President and members of Congress, because we are coming back on May 1st. No more stalling. We'll be at your doorstep. We won't slow back down, we won't be pacified with vague promises. We will keep rallying,writing and calling until you stand up and do the job for which you were elected.Fulfill your promise and PASS THE DREAM ACT!

In 12 more days, Mr. President

2010-03-09T15:09:00.004-05:00

The time has come to collect on your promises, President Obama.
WE answered your call. WE believed. WE stumped for you and we
voted for you. WE delivered, Mr. President- but have you?

You promised us change within the first 100 days.
We have passed that mark four times over and seen absolutely nothing
except increased raids and deportations. We’ve had enough
of waiting and enough of being put off with vague promises of immigration reform.
We’ve had enough of having friends and loved ones living
a half-life in the shadows because of a broken immigration
system that has failed both immigrants and our communities.
We are sick of the labels, lies and manipulation attempts to
splinter the country into factions divided along race and
class lines. We helped bring your dream to life, Mr. President;
it’s your turn to bring our DREAM to fruition.
In twelve days, we are making a stand
and making our voices heard loud and clear. We are coming together
brown and white, old and young, queer and straight, rich and poor,
from all around the country. Our message is simple:
we demand that Congress take up immigration reform NOW,
and pass the DREAM Act as the first meaningful step in the process.

Why the anti immigration movement fears the DREAM Act

2010-03-01T17:57:00.004-05:00

Just yesterday I watched a video of the Trail of Dreams walkers as they joined a NAACP protest of a KKK rally. The white robes said the same ugly old things they always say; onlookers shook their heads in dismay. The hate and the ignorance went hand in hand with the tired old arguments these anti-immigration and nativist groups trot out to justify their racist crusade. And as usual they fall flat in the face of reality.
To claim that immigrants, documented or not, are guilty of having a free ride on the back of taxpayers is asinine. Immigrants pay sales taxes property taxes and regular taxes; the undocumented simply do not use a large majority of the public services they help fund. The same holds for crime waves on undocumented immigrant; in actuality they are more likely to be victimized and not seek help from the police. Lastly, to assert that they steal jobs from “real Americans” is false as well - in many cases they create more jobs and even rescue communities from economic downturn.

DREAM Act eligible students represent the absolute opposite of every stereotype ever dredged up by anti immigrant wingnuts .Remember, when we talk about DREAM Act students, we are talking about young students who exhibit the best of what we expect from all our children: academic success and the desire to succeed even further. They have defied the odds and many accomplish the highest honors. They are not responsible for their undocumented status, having come to the US with their parents as children; to attempt to punish them for something that was entirely out of their hands smacks of persecution and racism. There is ample proof of the benefits that a community and the nation as well stand to reap when the handicap of undocumented status is removed from these students and they are permitted to fully participate and contribute to society. And so DREAMers are the nativists’ worst nightmare, and the best argument for defeating this newest wave of anti immigrant sentiment that is sweeping our country.
We need to ask people to check their real-life experiences against the negative rhetoric they hear on the media. Americans need to answer these questions: have you personally lost a job, been victimized by, or been disadvantaged by an undocumented person? The honest answer will uniformly be NO. Look around you America, rip the scales of ignorance from your eyes. Demand that Congress stop holding the lives of thousands of student hostage and take the first step to fix our broken immigration system by passing the DREAM Act.

Why I dream of change

2009-12-12T03:28:00.004-05:00

I'm Puerto Rican, so I can't call myself an immigrant. But I have lived as an immigrant abroad, I have been the other , the outsider looking in, and know very well how hard it is, getting used to life in a place where everything is strange. Picture how many more magnitudes of difficulty are involved then when your hands are tied by a lack of papers.
I've had the pleasure and the privilege to meet and befriend people from many different countries and from all walks of life, and through their stories I was educated to the reality just how difficult it can be to immigrate to the US. I thought i had heard it all: the endless waiting, the requests for document after document, the ridiculously convoluted rules, the fees, the crooked lawyers that stiff you out of your savings and produce no results. Yet was has fired me up the most is the plight of the undocumented students brought here as children or infants. The fact that you could grow up, go to school and strive for excellence and to get to the top and then have your life come to a dead screeching halt seemed surreal. But its all too true for thousands of youths across the land. Motto schooled me in his reality, and introduced me to many other students, who like himself, are high achieving, hard working, and have defied huge odds to become budding community leaders. It is that drive, that spirit to not only improve their personal situation but to change things for the better, ensuring that no one has to run the rat maze of obstacles with which they have been forced to deal that inspired me to become actively involved in the push for immigration reform. I refuse to stand by and do nothing while the gifts and talents of people who have enriched their communities and schools, who have shown so much promise, go to waste. I can't stand the racists and bald opportunists who rant about "criminal"and "illegal" when the topic of immigration is discussed and whose only solution is "deport them all!". They have absolutely no clue about the sacrifices, fear, worries, and hardships that have been surmounted by Dreamers and their families. I don't want to see one more family torn apart, or see any more Dreamers placed under the threat of what amount to exile.
This process has not been without personal cost. My family disdains politics, looks askance at my activism, and is pessimistic about the effects of our campaigns, they are offended by the buttons and the t-shirts; they've gone as far as to try and curtail the extent of my involvement. It is hard going when your allegiances are questioned. But I take my inspiration from each victory, whether large or small, and from the amazing tireless pro migrant community. And most of all, from all the Dreamers. They keep me going.
And this keeps me going too.

Adios Lou Dobbs

2009-11-12T14:02:00.007-05:00

After months of relentless campaigning by Presente.org's Bastadobbs and DropDobbs.com we can finally claim victory. In what was a completely unforeseen move and after months of escalating conflict within the network, Lou Dobbs announced yesterday evening that he was leaving CNN for greener pastures.

Click to watch.

Although there was a joyous celebration yesterday throughout the pro-migrant community we should not breathe a sigh of relief just yet. It is a definite triumph that we were able to prevail over a huge network like CNN. But sadly I don't think good ol' Leprosy Lou is quite done selling his oh so special brand of anti immigrant hate. If you have time you want to waste you can read the transcript of this address here
He is clearly hinting at future plans of "active advocacy". NPR's All Things Considered mulls about the possible reasons behind his ouster and the direction he might take. Not an enormous stretch since we know he has close ties to the far right wingnut groups, i.e. birthers, FAIR, et. al. , and they thirst for the credibility they (misguidedly) believe he might grant.
Definitely we should celebrate.But we should take advantage of the momentum built and the lessons learned and pull together and use to propagate positive information about the need for immigration reform. And I predict CNN will be giving Latinos in America endless replay, to make up for the viewers they lost during the Drop Dobbs campaign.
I hope we can figure out a way to make that work for us. And Lou?
I'ma be watching out for you.

Remembering Marcelo Lucero

2009-11-05T11:36:00.001-05:00

His last name means star. By all accounts he was a quiet, hardworking man, younger looking then his real age of 37. But his light has been snuffed out. Most of a year has gone by since Marcelo was viciously murdered by seven young men for no other reason other than the color of his skin,and his being Hispanic. In what is supposed to be a safe suburb.
In America.
"Why? How can it be?" some have exclaimed. Others will question the upbringing and background of his killers, blame the parents , blame the schools,wring their hands, blame the system.
They will all be wrong.
This happened because we let it happened. This is the America that is emerging, because we do not stand up and hold accountable those who have fostered this climate of suspicion and blame and hate. Where seven bored kids can feel free to hunt down another human being and beat and stab him to death. Where a county executive has no qualms dismissing a heinous murder as a "one time event" while adopting policies that foster hatred towards immigrants.
For SHAME.
One of his killers has seen fit to plead guilty to his crime. But Patchogue County, NY still does not feel like a safe place for its Hispanic residents. Or a welcoming one.
We need to change our ways, America.
If you do nothing, if you do not speak up, Marcelo's life is rendered meaningless.
And you stand with the haters and the killers.
Speak up. Act now.
Remember Marcelo.

A Reaction

2009-09-25T10:41:00.003-04:00

I have been appalled at the quantity of vitriol and misinformation that is apparent in all media outlets regarding the efforts to increase support for DREAM Act and immigration reform. Not surprised, mind you, but sincerely taken aback. I know it is common practice to blame others for whatever current wrong ails the country, especially if those others speak funny and look different. Common, and ignorant, yet has not stopped us from committing that particular wrong time and again throughout our history.
Every single immigrant group has been a target for discrimination and outright abuse, condoned by our government. From the 19th century to the present there has been public and active opposition to each successive incoming group. We had anti Germans, anti Irish, anti Chinese, anti Italian, anti Polish, anti Jews, anti Japanese groups. Yet as a nation we overcame those nativist fits and those groups are now firmly part of the American melting pot. This latest and virulent outpouring of anti immigration hate represents ( I hope) another growing pain for our nation.

All the arguments commonly employed against immigration fail miserably when used against students who stand to benefit from the DREAM Act. They speak the language and are clearly assimilated and have amply proven their ability and resourcefulness. No services and education were "stolen" as some anti groups claim- they improve the economy since they spend money on products and services just like everybody else, and property, state and federal income taxes have been paid by the majority.Rather the reverse holds true as services funded have NOT been used.And DREAMers do not take employment away rather they increase the quality of the workforce by raising the bar.

Instead of closing your minds against the thousands of students that through no fault or choice of their own find themselves in this undocumented limbo, please understand the issue at hand.DREAM students may not have been born in the US but they are as thoroughly American as any born citizen. Their achievements in the face of adversity embody the American spirit and are worthy of admiration.

Imagine for a minute being ripped from your home and dropped in a place you may not even have a memory of, where you may only know the rudiments of the language,where you have no resources or support. If we saw the story of a young American stranded in these conditions we would demand immediate rescue. Yet those of you that stand in pig headed righteousness, screaming Illegal is ILLEGAL! SEND THEM BACK! are calling to do exactly that- EXILE young Americans. They are raised and educated and lived AS AMERICANS. And they are acting upon they values they have absorbed. Fighting for what is just and fair and morally right and to not give up. Is that not the quality of citizen you want working to improve our nation? Or do you prefer the kind that sits around and whines about how bad things are and looks for scapegoats?

By disenfranchising DREAMers and barring access to full integration we are cheating ourselves out of their abilities and education and throwing away the investment we've already made. We lose thousands that could be hardworking full contributors to our society. The human cost alone is entirely unbearable and unacceptable
The DREAM Act is a fair and humane way to both correct one of the many dysfunctionalities in the broken immigration system and would allow us to reap the immense promise and ability these students represent. PASS THE DREAM ACT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting and hoping

2009-08-11T10:47:00.005-04:00

Waiting,hoping,waiting. Living in the paperless shadows must be like spending time in hell's waiting room. The endless waiting is bad, but what lies on the other side of the door is so many times worse. You try to distract yourself. You may even succeed for a little while. But in the back of your head that clock is ticking away.
There have been some good news. But after some very important victories at the beginning of the summer,and in direct contradiction to President Obama's previous promises, now comes the news that Immigration reform may be delayed. WHAT?! So I spend ages try to scrounge up every last bit of information available on DREAM and CIR and glean some positive feeling from it despite the bulk of what s available being negative nativist and just plain ignorant. Which wonk is right? Who is most correctly predicting what will come? Am I doing enough? Am I being loud enough? Have I contacted enough relevant people? Who else can I involve that will kickstart the reform movement to the forefront? Working on those answers.
And meanwhile daily life drags on. With all its petty concerns draining what little energy and patience I may have left.I am not complaining, don't get me wrong. I'm very aware of the privileges available to people like me. What grates is the fact that the extreme effort and hard work of others, who have earned those privileges ten times over, goes unrewarded, and is ignored and belittled.
But right now,while waiting on bureaucrats to make a decision that will change the course of one life, the waiting consumes me.

[VIDEO] Without Papers, Looking for a Future

2009-04-25T17:32:00.002-04:00

NY TIMES VIDEO

A 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Ecuador discusses the obstacles she has faced in the United States while trying building a life without citizenship.

S.W.E.R. Town Hall Meeting for Dream

2009-04-24T10:56:00.005-04:00

April 13th SWER (Students Working for Equal Rights) hosted an outstanding Town Hall meeting in the Wolfson campus of MD College. Over 120 attendees listened to presentations that went from MDC administrators and student government representatives to community representatives, all declaring their strong support For DREAM Act.
Even more moving were the personal stories shared by several Dreamers in the audience. It was a deeply affecting to the rest of the attendees to judge by the numerous comments they shared. We NEED more of these events that not only educate our peer citizens about DREAM but also put a real human face on what each DREAMer has had to overcome, the personal cost of living a half life and waiting in limbo. This is in my opinion the best way to counteract the opposition, when they attempt to label dream students as criminals, or dehumanize us as just numbers. If our peers can relate to our experience they will then become supporters. In this way we create a personal stake in each of those supporters, and ensure their commitment and efforts towards enactment of DREAM Act.

Tom Tancredo faces DREAM protesters

2009-04-15T19:24:00.004-04:00

I guess Mr. Tancredo got some rowdy visitors during his anti-~~illegal~~/DREAM opposing speech. Serves him right, however nobody here at LIFE BY DREAM condones any sort of radical, violent, illegal behavior in any way/shape/form.

At UNC, student protesters crash Tom Tancredo's party

"The scheduled talk by former Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Tuesday night was cut very short by raucous, angry student protesters."

"The night's only moment of calm followed. Tancredo offered to listen to students' protests, if they would listen to him, and then began to discuss his views on higher education and illegal immigrants. Tancredo said he had been invited to speak in opposition to the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act, proposed federal legislation that would allow the children of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship through college education or military service.

A student group Youth for Western Civilization (YWC) invited Tancredo to speak at UNC-CH. Riley Matheson, the senior who started the Chapel Hill chapter of YWC, attempted to introduce Tancredo, but was largely drowned out by the crowd.

"You believe in white people's superiority, you fuck!" one student shouted, to cheers.

Tancredo ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 on an admittedly single-issue platform: Stopping illegal immigration. While in Congress, Tancredo—the grandson of Italian immigrants—introduced the Mass Immigration Reduction Act, which would have placed a moratorium on all immigration, legal or otherwise, into the U.S., except for family members of current citizens."

"UNC-CH junior Rupert Campbell, one of the protest's organizers, walked through the crowd, handing out anti-YWC flyers.
"Free speech is laudable to the extent that hate speech isn't part of it," he said. Campbell, who compared YWC to the Hitler Youth movement in pre-World War II Germany, said the protest wasn't necessarily organized to drown Tancredo out. "We just wanted to make our voices heard. We wanted to raise awareness of equality."

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2009-04-06T20:11:00.011-04:00

A couple of days ago, I went with Motto to renew his driver's license.

A rite of passage that for the majority of the population is painless but for him has turned into a yearly ordeal. Mind you, we had everything in order and in triplicate. The only things missing was the proverbial pound of flesh and pint of blood. Everything in order and in a folder!

We waited in line made small talk until it was his turn. With some trepidation, he hands his paperwork over, only to be told "your paperwork is too old, you need something less than three years old". And therein lies the problem. Thanks to a system that is as dysfunctional as it is slow and erratic there is no way to obtain more current paperwork. He is stuck in limbo, with a bright future almost within reach and a lack of current ID can snatch it away just when years of hard work and dedication are about to pay off.

Thanks to our lovely home state's penchant for getting in line with the past administration's every idiotic new measure, in this case Real ID, thousands of law abiding, hard working people, not just immigrants, are having a hard time renewing driver's license.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!

We live here own property pay taxes volunteer and work to improve our communities. We work hard we excel we try to shine. We play by the rules even the unfair and unwritten ones. We jump through every hoop and and beat the odds and surmount every obstacle. And still still the game is fixed and the dice are weighted, and not in our favor.

Its almost as if the powers that be are conspiring to create a self fulfilling prophecy. If you tell a person or a child often enough long enough that they can't and must only act this way, you can eventually force that outcome. Except that in this case the outcome is meant to be detrimental. Hysterical given the fact that while my law abiding straight arrow friend is attempting to follow the rules there's all manner of chicanery taking place right outside the DMV.

We won't be dissuaded. We 'll keep trying and we are going to play by your unfair rules. And we are going to beat you fair and square.

One laugh, Two laughs

2009-04-05T01:19:00.000-04:00

So the white men and the Indians lived in harmony from there on huh?!

An odd endorsement?

2009-04-02T16:26:00.009-04:00

The irony in this still baffles me.

As stated on DREAM Activist, Chris is by means no hero. However, he does seem to comprehend the basis of the DREAM Act.

If you still find this hard to believe, don't take my word for it. Here is adirect quote from Mr. Simcox (Yes, the co-founder of the Minutemen himself stated this) and the link to the article:

Rep. Polis has a DREAM

"They need to be brought out of the shadows. They need to be documented and swear an oath to become a citizen,” he said. “If they do that, then by all means they deserve the opportunity that anyone else has.”

I guess we ought to say, thanks?

USSA- LegCon '09

2009-03-29T22:56:00.005-04:00

Our report from this years LegCon hosted by the United States Student Association is up at DREAM Activist's main website!

“You alongside all of the students who are present here today truly put a face to the issue, we need more activist like you; young people, to be here on the hill and meet with us, so that everyone may see who these issues truly affect. Continue your efforts, and please call us directly, you would not believe what nasty calls we get from time to time from lobbyist and opposition to either of the measures we discussed today.”

Show us some love!

Oh and here is a little something, something from the event!

The DREAM Act is re-born.

2009-03-28T20:46:00.012-04:00

The DREAM Act has been reintroduced!

And what a press coverage it has received, from both sides of the argument there have been several emerging articles that have promoted and demonized the DREAM Act.

The current status of both House and Senate versions has been made available to all reader on the information bar, and the "Current Projects" section has also been updated!

Here are some of our most visited headlines:

Recurring DREAM back in Congress
DREAM Act Reintroduced In Senate
DREAM ACT Reintroduced In Both Chambers

Not to mention the blogosphere has been plagued with several reviews, opinions, testimonials, about the DREAM Act's introduction.

More distinguished post so far has been that made by Kyle over at CitizenOrange, in which he dictated 5 actions on how to help the DREAM Act:

1. CALL - The National Council of La Raza has a page to help you call your congressional representatives in support of the DREAM Act.
http://capwiz.com/nclr/callalert/index.tt?alertid=12988601

2. FAX - America's Voice has a page to help you fax your congressional representatives in support of the DREAM Act.
http://americasvoiceonline.org/page/speakout/DaretoDream

3. EMAIL - Change.org has a page to help you email your congressional representatives in support of the DREAM Act.
http://www.change.org/ideas/932/view_action/ask_your_congressperson_to_support_the_dream_act

4. PETITION - Dreamactivist.org has the official petition in support of the DREAM Act.
http://dreamact2009.com/

5. TEXT - Text "Justice" ("Justicia" for Spanish) to 69866 to be the first to know when the DREAM Act is introduced. FIRM's Mobile Action Network is an excellent way to stay connected and have maximum impact at just the right moment.
http://fairimmigration.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/action-join-the-fight-for-immigrant-rights/

Here at LIFE BY DREAM would like to thank Kyle for his hard work and dedication on the issue, as he is one of the most invaluable members of our activist bubble. His determination only bleeds orange as he has written several articles where he defends the DREAM Act, and gives comprehensive articles that depict the benefits of this legislature.

It is without a doubt that his article struck some positive chords, as AlterNet (one of the largest online magazine) published Kyle's Pass the DREAM Act for Future Economic Prosperity: A Comprehensive Argument.

The moral argument for the DREAM Act is simple. The only people who cannot see it are those who refuse to recognize unauthorized migrants as humans. That's why any article that humanizes migrants is always quickly filled with vicious nativist hate in the comments section.

BRAVO Kyle! Nobody could have put it better.
These are exciting times ladies and gentlemen, as our drums continue to resonate, we slowly but surely move forward.

Please take some time to visit all of the links covered in this post, as you can discover plenty of valuable information of the recent developments about the DREAM Act.

D-DAY March 26th: A NEW DREAM IS BORN

2009-03-26T21:12:00.003-04:00

From Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) Office:

I applaud Sen. Durbin for standing up once more for an idea that economically benefits our nation and that is smart and fair.

I once met a young woman in Lyon County, Nevada, who was brought to the United States at a very young age and had been here since she could remember. She was the smartest girl in her class and wanted to go to college, but had no options because she had no legal immigration status. Her potential was probably not realized and our country lost the contribution this smart young woman could have made to our economy and her community.

For many of these young people, America is the only homeland they know. Giving them the opportunity to educate themselves, or to defend our country, is good for them and for our nation. This law would grant these children temporary status while they go to college or serve in the Armed Forces. If they graduate or serve honorably, and stay out of trouble, they would be eligible for a green card and eventually for citizenship.

This bill is one step in fixing our broken immigration system. We need comprehensive reform that is tough, fair and practical. We need to secure our northern and southern borders; we need to ensure that every work has legal authorization to work; and we need to require the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country to come out of the shadows, register with the government and apply for legal status, pay taxes and fines, learn English, and stay out of trouble.

The DREAM Act is a very important first step. I thank Sen. Durbin for his work on this important piece of legislation, and I will continue to be a strong advocate for it in the Senate.
Harry Reid (26 March 2009)

And so there you have it folks!
Today we were able to witness what a strong will power, and how much support we have behind us this time around.

The DREAM Act has finally been introduced in this session of Congress, and I assure you that the efforts will keep pushing for its enactment this time around as well. There have been countless efforts, and sleepless nights from many DREAM advocates who have made this possible; at this time, I would like to thank each and everyone one of you who have made this possible.

It is because of all our our DREAMs, hopes, and fighting spirits that we are able to put a face and voice to the issue.

As usual, MD and myself will continue to supply our readers with the latest information as to any new developments that come in the next days.

Thanks to all the advocates, activists, organizations, Senators and Representatives alike who have given their full commitment and support to the issue. There ought to be a list that names each and everyone of of you, but you know who you are and deep down inside I thank you.

ACTION ALERT!!! NATIONAL DREAM ACT CALL IN DAY

2009-03-26T09:25:00.011-04:00

Ladies and Gents, today IS the DAY!
As per DREAMACTIVIST.ORG the DREAM Act is set to be introduced today!

TAKE ACTION NOW!!!

Ask everyone you know to call into Congress in support of the DREAM Act.

Dial 202-224-3121 to be connected to your member of Congress and say something similar to the following:

"Hi! My name is ____________ and I am a student at the (your campus) and a voter in your district. I am calling in conjunction with students from across the country to urge our elected officials to support the DREAM Act amendment to expand access to higher education for high school graduates who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented children. I support the DREAM Act because it will increase opportunities for 360,000 qualified high school graduates who are currently denied their dream to an education.

Can I count on _(Elected Official’s Name)__ to support the DREAM Act in this session of congress? Thank you for your time and I look forward to your support."

To find out the names of your Congressmen, go here

and type your zip code in the box. Remember if you live away from home while in school you have more than one zip code to use.

CALL NOW!! ALL DAY!!! GET YOUR FRIENDS TO CALL!!!

Bringing the DREAM to the Hill

2009-03-25T18:50:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I had the privilege to meet many of this country's best and brightest, in the heart of our nation. Many fellow Dreamers made the trip to DC and shared their stories and efforts with students from all over the US. It was inspiring to see so many young, vital people intent on bringing to the attention of our country's leaders the importance of DREAM act, and uplifting to see how many came forward and committed to helping make DREAM a reality.

I had the opportunity to visit the DC offices of several of our Congressmen and -women, and I am happy to report that they were all supportive of DA. However that was not the experience for all the students participation on this Lobby Day. We need to maintain all the alliances forged during this fabulous weekend and solidify support especially in those states where the leadership is resistant to enactment of DREAM Act. Please check in often as we ll be posting alerts on all the actions taking place in order to disseminate information and have maximum positive impact. Again, many thanks to USSA leadership for choosing to promote DREAM Act during this year's LegCon.

ACTION ALERT: Ask President Barack Obama About the FEDERAL Dream Act!

2009-03-25T17:40:00.005-04:00

Currently the White house is taking questions pertaining to the economy and other aspects, that are to be voted according to popularity. Currently there are 14 questions that address the passage of the Federal Dream Act.

Please do take a minute of your time (registration is LITERALLY seconds) and vote for the Dream Act questions.

Ask President Obama a Question

Go ahead. Create an Account. Log In. Click on the Search Bar and type Dream Act. Vote yes (check).

America's Voice= 1 Arpaio = 0

2009-03-11T18:28:00.003-04:00

Success!

I received this email today, thanks to everyone who signed the petition and followed closely.

While this is in fact a great accomplishment, we must not forget that fight continues on to make Arpaio and others like him accountable for their actions.

Clip from email received From America's Voice (click here for coverage on their site)

Dear Friend --
I just got back from Capitol Hill - and I had to share this with you right away.
Remember when we asked you to help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures to investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio? Well, yesterday the Department of Justice sent a letter to Arpaio, informing him that they would be investigating!

2009-03-11T14:07:00.005-04:00

Here is one of the best sarcastic if not comically under-toned editorials I have read in a while.

Now, I don't presume for you to be all knowing. But the issue at hand is a growing one and does need to be corrected in the near future.

So... for simplicity sake if you are clueless of about the issue still, please do read this article.

Griego: Immigration 101 might change minds
By Tina Griego
The Denver Post
This, by far, is the most common question I received: "Why haven't they just applied for citizenship?"

The question presumes that presented with the choice of becoming a legal resident or remaining an illegal immigrant, these students have chosen the latter.

No such choice exists.

Young people who are here illegally cannot saunter into their local immigration office and say, "All right, I'm tired of being an illegal immigrant. Let's do this citizenship thing."

Oh, and within the article you may find a little surprise ;)

The DREAM Act is expected to be introduced in the House in
about two weeks.

More Support From CA.

2009-03-09T14:15:00.002-04:00

Supporters rally for DREAM Act
Julienne Lauler (Contact)
Published: Monday, March 9, 2009
Although Obama still has not replied to the letter, hope for immigration
reform might be on the horizon, according to various members of the UCLA
community, including the director of the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, Kent
Wong.
“We now have a president who has publicly stated his support for the
DREAM Act. Also, we have a larger Democratic base in Congress. So I think this
year, above any other, we have the best chance of passing the DREAM Act,” Wong said.

More on Juan Gomez

2009-03-05T23:00:00.004-05:00

Juan G.
Someone up there must really, really like you my friend.

Deportation Reprieve Extended for two Miami Brothers
U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., on Tuesday filed what's called a private bill on their behalf to keep them in the country through 2011. Two years ago, Dodd and U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, filed similar bills, but they expired last year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had scheduled to deport them to Colombia on March 15 .

Colombian Brothers Juan and Alex Gomez avoid deportation -- again
Immigration advocates said the bills stave off a planned March 15 deportation. And it gives them more time to push for passage of the Dream Act, a bill that would offer students who grew up in the United States a path to legal residency.

NYT knows what's up!

2009-03-04T19:30:00.003-05:00

This editorial proves [as if other articles haven't already] that the New York Times does have a clear picture on what is going on within the immigration system within the country.

We are still within the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Let us be proven wrong and shown that the Dream Act and other forms of immigration reforms, as small as they maybe, can be actually done right here, right now.

Editorial
Who’s Running Immigration?
Published: March 3, 2009

Americans who might applaud any crackdown on illegal immigrants, particularly in a recession, should know that scattershot raids and rampaging sheriffs are not the answer. The idea that enforcement alone will eliminate the underground economy is a great delusion. It runs up against the impossible arithmetic of mass expulsion — no conceivable regime of raids will wrench 12 million illegal immigrants from their jobs and homes.

Thanks to DREAMACT TEXAS for the great article.

Oh, and here's a funny:

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Camila: An update

2009-03-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

Camila Hornung, a featured Dream student who was an honor student at Florida State University, was deported to Peru along with her parents on June 2008, despite concerted efforts by friends and family as well as local government representatives. She recently sat down with us to recount for us her experiences in the US and give us an update of her life today.

Motto:
Camila Hornung, thank you for taking a few minutes of your time to sit down with me. I would like to ask you some questions in regards to your experience in the United States and your immigration case. Could you briefly describe how and why you came to the United States?

Camila:
Well my parents made the decision to take my sister and me to the United States on May 6, 1996, because the situation in Peru was very chaotic. We arrived with a tourist visa. Once we were in the US, we applied for political asylum, this gave us legal status.

Motto:
And for how long were you in this legal process?

Camila:
Until we were given the final order of deportation in December 2002.

Camila:
Ok, just verified, August 2003
Motto:
Was there any at any moment an opportunity for you and your sister to modify your status? Given, I presume that you both were active members of the community?

Camila:
Not at all. Once we were given the order of deportation that ruined any chance of being able to modify our status. Although there could have been other things that could have helped. One being the Dream Act and possibly immigration reform.

Motto:
Did your family try to modify their status at any time during your stay in the United States?

Camila:
We had pending political asylum. We were always in the hopes of an immigration reform. My parents petitioned until no other possibilities were left to keep our legal status until it was denied.

Motto:
Tell me Camila, what were your goals, aspirations, and hopes for the future while in the United States?

Camila:
Most definitely, they still are there,but they have been put on hold since my deportation.

Motto:
Tell me about how you went to school applied for and won scholarships. What major did you want to pursue, what were your hopes for your life here.

Camila:
Ok, well I applied to Florida State University with the very little I had, my social security number and what not. I also had Florida Bright Futures and prepaid college that my parents paid throughout the years with their hard work. I was a business student at FSU and wanted to major in International Business. I never planned for my life to be anywhere else than in the United States. My life plan was basically to go to school, pursue my career and live my life there.
Motto:
And now you find yourself on hold. Do you plan to return to the United States at any point?

Camila:
Of course! That ‘s where my life is and I plan to return to normal some day. Go back with my family and friends and continue my studies.

Motto:
So the 10 year ban has not affected your dreams of returning at all?

Camila:
No, patience is crucial at this point.

Motto:
That is a very admirable characteristic. Something, I may add, I do not have myself.

Motto:
All aside, can you recall the events of the day you got detained?

Motto:
How were you guys treated, and what type of process did you endure?

Camila:
It's something I think about everyday, the worst day of my life aside from the day I got deported. It was just like any normal day, my parents and I were going to the library when an undercover cop pulled us over right near the corner of our house. There he handcuffed my dad as if he were a criminal (that was definitely the hardest part for me). From there the ICE police offers had no consideration towards us and took us to the Broward detention center. The conditions were that of criminals, words cannot describe what I went through. I did not do anything to deserve that treatment. At the detention center our personal belongings, cell phones and our human rights were taken from us. At that point we were viewed as criminals. My father was separated from my mother and I and taken to the men's side. My mother and I were forbidden to speak to my father if for some reason we crossed paths. My father was forced to wear an orange uniform and my mother and I were given used clothes to wear. It was definitely degrading and humiliating having to experience the life of a criminal.

Motto:
How long did you stay at the detention center?

Camila:
From June 9th to June13th

Motto:
And from there what happened?

Camila:
June 13th we were deported to Peru unexpectedly, without any warning. They just grabbed the three of us and told us to get into this jail van and did not tell us where we were going. Once I saw the sign for the "airport", I knew it was over.

Motto:
Did any organization try to aid in your cause? What happened to your sister?

Camila:
Well as you know Nora Sandigo made her best efforts to help me as well as Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. My sister, Luciana made the decision of returning to Peru because it was too difficult for her to stand being alone after everything that happened.

Motto:
Have you been affected psychologically or traumatized from the experience?

Camila:
I have trouble sleeping; all I can think about sometimes is just going back to my life.
I don't mean to sound too dramatic. But it's true

Motto:
Please do tell

Camila:
Yeah, just basically the situation takes over most of the time and it's all I can think about at times.

Motto:
Anything else you’d like to add to the readers out there? Any advice for the Dreamers?

Camila:
I would like my story to teach others about the current immigration situation in the country and that something must be done about it. And to the Dreamers, just to not give up "Patience is the greatest of all virtues."

Motto:
Thank you Camila

Camila:
You're welcome, thank you!!

We at Life by Dream thank Camila for her time and her willingness to share her story with the rest of us. Her patience and positive attitude as well as her message of hope is an inspiration to all.

2009-03-01T07:20:00.010-05:00

Amazing huh?
Who would have ever guessed that something so big, highly popular, and very well regarded by our current population as being crafted by the hands of an immigrant?

AMERICAN APPAREL is a success story that demonstrates what potential some individuals hold within themselves, and are just waiting for that opportunity to paint it all over the world.

Its creator Dov Charney is highly spirited and involved with pro-migrant rights.

Here's a bit from an article published by the NPR, hit the link for the full article:

American Apparel, an Immigrant Success Story
"Immigrants are the engine of our economy, whether we want to admit it or not," he says. "They're here, legal or illegal -- [a] fundamental part of the economy is these workers."

Here we GROW!

2009-02-24T16:52:00.007-05:00

Always be thankful of those who are willing to lend a hand.

Life by Dream is pleased to announce a new addition to its team.
Meet ManosDoradas, a well informed-willing activist and dear friend of mine, to whom I owe many thanks for constant attention, support, advice, and care.

Manosdoradas (MD); alongside myself, will continue to deliver contributions, articles, opinions, and current immigration issues, in addition to lobbying efforts to have the federal DREAM Act enacted as soon as possible.

I am confident on MD's ability to contribute to the blog. Hard-work, dedication, and a fire-fueled spirit up make this Puerto-Rican native one of the most qualified individuals to aide in the maintenance of Life by Dream.

Surely you will enjoy her blogs as she has much to bring to the table. It is my pleasure to have MD as a fellow author, but most importantly as a friend in my life.

Welcome!

Outside looking In

2009-02-23T18:00:00.003-05:00

Remember Juan Gomez? Last year it looked like he had it made. A private bill made it possible for him and his brother Alex to legally stay in the US. He received acceptance and a full scholarship renowned Ivy League school. Yet less than one year later, everything is up in the air again. By any measure, he would be considered an asset. He’s proven his worth by doing brilliantly in Georgetown (Georgetown! for God’s sake!) Yet he languishes unable to even plan his summer. It is a crying shame that Juan now has to face such an uncertain future after overcoming so many obstacles and losing his parents for the foreseeable future. We need to circulate his story as well as that of the many people in the same situation. Because to let all that talent, all that drive and passion slip through our collective grasp and be wasted is the biggest shame of all.

THE OUTSIDER

Each week, the possibility of getting deported looms larger. Juan can no longer block it from his mind so easily. "If I have this deadline that's going to come up in some form or another, it's not like I can look that far ahead into the future," he says.

CIRCULATE!

2009-02-07T12:46:00.001-05:00

America's Voice

Deport all parents?

2009-02-02T14:05:00.004-05:00

A couple days back an article was published on South Florida's Newspaper The Sun-Sentinel (Broward County) with the following title:

Families of deported immigrants hope lawsuit, new U.S. president bring change

The article describes the story of Cecia, 12, and Ronald Jr., 9 who are among the thousands of children who are born in the U.S as citizens but find themselves with undocumented parents who often end up deported, tearing their family to chunks. Hit the Link for the Full Article.

Here at Life by Dream, I find it difficult to believe that these families are torn without any sort of remedy at all. What would be more horrible than being separated from your own child for an unknowingly long period of time? Better yet, why are these children to be punished? As U.S. citizens shouldn't they at least have a shot to fix their broken family?

According to the comments left on this article, they don't.

More or less, they should be treated as criminals, stripped of their U.S. citizenship and sent back home with their illegal parents.

Does this show any kind of rationale, or morale?

Where have the American values gone?

How do we continue to plague ourselves of Xenophobia and hated to wards all immigrants?

Common misconceptions/stereotypes against immigrant groups:

All "Illegal" Immigrants do not pay taxes.
All "Illegal" Immigrants come to the U.S. to turn it into a third world country.
All "Illegal" Immigrants are Hispanic.
All "Illegal" Immigrants do not contribute a dime to society.
All "Illegal" Immigrants are lazy

For the record the list does not stop there.
Let it be known that immigrants do contribute to society against all stereotypes, and yes they do come in all shapes and sizes. As for illegal immigration, the trends are regressing and illegal immigration is slowing down.

Here are some of the comments on that article.
It saddening how opinions and views of a person may change by simply applying the peel and stick label of "illegal alien" over their foreheads without any sort of discussion or knowledge of who the person is, more or less what he/she is capable of

This isn't your country and it never will be, s***. You come here unwanted
and uninvited to leech off the American taxpayer and turn the US into a
Third World s***hole like your homeland. No matter how many of your
illiterate relatives you drag over, no matter how many totally uneducable anchor spawn you dump out there are alot more of us than there are of you. And we can subtract alot faster than you can add.
No Way! Send them and their kids back where they came from! They broke the
LAW by coming here and overstaying their visas. Get them out of MY country NOW!
The anchor babies should be stripped of their citizenship also. The parents
came hear with imntention to thumb their noses at our system and do it the way
the wanted. They undercut wages of the rest of the work force and now we have a
big mess. Sorry kiddees, your parents broke the law and that does not give you a
free pass!!!

I wonder if these nativists consider people "illegal aliens" even after they fell out of status due to the broken immigration system that the U.S. currently has. Please do feel free to leave you pro-migrant comments under the article, in order to shed light on this issue.

SURVEY FOR DREAM Students

2009-01-24T17:23:00.003-05:00

A professor at FIU is conducting a survey which aims to take in opinions from undocumented High School students in order to perhaps provide a better service for them in a foreseeable future.

Hit the link to take the Survey.

Thanks to SWER for providing the info.
Note: FIU is located in Florida.

2009-01-23T20:04:00.003-05:00

Over at Latin Lingo Clothing, they begun printing of Dream Act support T-Shirts.
I got mine in today, when will you get yours ;]

A percentage of proceeds from this shirt will be donated to Dreams To Be Heard!!!!

January 20th

2009-01-20T11:49:00.002-05:00

Papeles

2009-01-19T19:49:00.003-05:00

Here a developing film that was brought to my attention by icewood313 over at the DAP.
The link to the main site can be found here.

Another film that has sparked interest is the upcoming An Unfinished Dream:

Coming 2009!

Going back 'Home'

2009-01-07T17:20:00.003-05:00

The Dream Act idea is currently at 18th place within the rankings of Change.org.
Several of you have already signed up to promote the idea wether it be by Facebook, word of mouth, even you own blogs. Remember that we only have until January 15th to get ourselves within the top 10 ideas, so please get out there and vote!
I would like to remind everyone that my blog, DA.ORG, and even myself have no relation with any action or views that the DAP Forum may be taking towards this movement.

On the right hand side of this blog you can also find a link to petition to get Joe Arpaio off the air.
The show has already launched on on FOX Reality Channel, and we urge everyone that since Sheriff Joe will be on Conan O'Brien tongiht to call this number and protest.
Here is the number: +1-212-664-4444
Please give them a piece of your mind.

Up-to-Date

2009-01-06T00:38:00.009-05:00

I am torn by Gov. Richardson's drop from his nomination to Secretary of Commerce, he was a model Latino pick in Obama's cabinet. Let's just wait and see what the FBI digs up from him, I guess Obama will need to find another pick for the post which shouldn't be too hard to find.

Lately, I have been down.
While my efforts and work are 100% on track, and I'm more than fueled to progress with our movement I can't help to think that I'm torn in half.
My disposition for making things right is probably the only side of me that is sane. While emotionally I am a train wreck.
I can't help to think sometimes I plague others with my politic speeches, my worries, troubles, insecurities, etc.
Do I bother so much that people begin to despise me?
Or is it simply that I'm so wrapped up in this that I am blind from everything else that is occurring around me?
Whatever this feeling is, let me assure you the reader that it shall pass.
One way or another. Excuse me for the rant.

CHANGE.ORG has re-opened for round two of voting.
So far, we have gathered a nice number of votes within the first day, but rest assure that IT WILL KEEP GROWING as time passes.
DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE, use the widget on this page to make sure you cast your vote on the top 3 ideas on immigration and any others you may consider as the best ideas to be presented to the Obama Administration.
We have less than 10 days before the January 15th deadline to gather as much support as we possibly can!

There will be another call soon for your help, so please keep posted as there are many many many more things to come.

Here is a funny since I have not kept up with you, sorry for being so lazy; I guess I have just been really busy these past couple days:

Click and zoom in to appreciate the truthfulness of this chart.

Start Your Engines...

2009-01-01T11:57:00.003-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

I'm sure that by now most of you (if not all of you) are sitting at home, stuffed with food, tired from partying last night, and plan to start the year on a new note.
That is all great and everything; yet, let's begin with some news.

As of last night, Change.org has closed its polling for the TOP 10 IDEAS FOR AMERICA.
Let me begin by congratulating and thanking all of those out there who made an effort and not only voted for the DREAM Act as one of the top 10 Ideas, but propagated the word and made it known that we want this piece of legislation passed in order to bring the Change we crave from the Obama administration to America.

In the last hours we managed to rake in over 400 new votes!
Catapulting us to 8th place after a lag, and keeping us at the number ONE spot in the immigration section of the website.
So take this time to sit back and celebrate, but don't get too comfortable.

Our opposition is second place right behind us, and they, like us are trying to rake up as many vote as they can for the next round as well.

The new voting beings on January 5th, this time around we have only ten days to make sure the DREAM Act stay on top like its supposed to. Please, take a day to rest, but do not forget that our task is right in front of us and that we need every vote we can in order to keep pushing this movement forward. Have all your friends, family, acquaintances vote for our cause, explain to them what it means and how beneficial it is to this nation and I am more than sure that they will advocates to their inner circles as well.

Feel free to vote on any of these two ideas and defeat our opposition!

Equal Immigration Rights for same sex binational couples

Pass the DREAM Act Now!

REMEBER THAT VOTING OPENS ON JANUARY 5TH so start you engines!

Happy New Years!

PARTICIPATE!

2008-12-27T01:35:00.007-05:00

Just a quick reminder to the readers to please PARTICIPATE in the following:

1. Change.org:

Change.org is currently having a "voting contest" in which the top 10 ideas that are voted in the website will be formally introduced to President-Elect Obama upon his inauguration.

"The top 10 rated ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 as the "Top 10 Ideas for America." We will then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress."

If you have not done so already, PLEASE click on the widget on the right hand side of this blog and submit your vote! REGISTERING takes only a FEW MINUTES and is pretty simple!

Here is the link for those of you who can't follow the widget:

Change.org PASS THE DREAM ACT!

2. Sign the Petition:

We are currently administering a petition through DreamActivist.org
May I remind you, that DreamActivist has been named the center for all DREAM Act Related Activity and should be checked for updates daily!

Currently we have a goal that runs in the thousands of signatures, so please sign and spread the word to those you know would also be interested in aiding our cause:

DreamActivist Petition

3. Contact Your Representatives:

If there has ever been one sure way to get your voice heard is by contacting your representatives and giving them a piece of your mind on how they are running things. By witting a letter (e-mails don't hold as much weight, however, do not let me discourage you from blasting emails and faxes to their offices as well!) to them, you can rest assured that them, if not their staffers will keep an eye out for the issue you're voicing your opinion on.

IN this case tell them about the DREAM Act. Its benefits, the DREAMers you have met, how important education ist o every child in America.

AILA makes it easier to find your representatives and the information on how to reach them.
Here is the link:

Contact Your Representatives

Here is a guide on how to properly write a letter to Congress (remember you can write/email/fax to your Representatives at their D.C. offices or their State offices):

How to Write to Congress

Also, do not forget to check DreamActivist for other ways to spread the word and help the DREAM Act!

Join our mailing list!
Send in your story!
Volunteer!
Get to know us!

Hope all your holidays went well, as a closing not please also sign this petition, so that we can give Sheriff Arpaio the attention he deserves.

The Border Closes, or so says the Economist

2008-12-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

This article published a couple days ago on the well renowned THE ECONOMIST website, explains how illegal immigration has slowed down thanks to enforcement of the current laws. However, the immigration system continues t be broken.

He is a snippet which mentions the DREAM Act, and implies mentions AgJobs??

Very interesting article!

"If there is to be no grand bargain, lesser steps may be taken. Farmers, who have political clout and a perpetual hunger for cheap labour, may be allowed to hire more seasonal workers. “Americans still aren’t rushing to pick lettuces in 115º heat,” notes Glenn Hamer, president of Arizona’s chamber of commerce. The DREAM Act, which would enable some illegal aliens who were brought to America as children to become residents, may be revived.

But if no provision is made to increase the supply of foreign labour permanently, the immigration issue will come back once business picks up again. As Tamar Jacoby of ImmigrationWorks USA, a pressure group, puts it, efforts to secure the border and to police unscrupulous employers will have to compete against the dynamism of the world economy. Don’t count on the cops to win. "

READ FULL ARTICLE

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2008-12-25T01:35:00.000-05:00

As the year draws to a close, I cannot help to be anything but grateful for the things I currently have in my life. It may be true that I, like many others, struggle on a daily basis; yet, it must go on record that I enjoy many privileges that I take for granted and I am thankful for each and everyone of them.

I maybe considered undocumented, but I am nothing short of a full, caring, loving, and grateful person. So here it goes!

I give thanks from health to my family, from friends to education, from this great country to those who believe in a better tomorrow. I am grateful that you all exist and have a presence in my life, because you empower me to keep moving forward, and fight for what is right in every aspect of life, not just the DREAM Act. Know that all I do is not for selfish reasons, but to make all of you proud.

Thank you for playing such an important part in my life, and in view of the holidays here is a funny for you to enjoy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Myself

2008-12-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

Im S.Aran.
A leader, an idealist, a student, a DREAMer.

My family brought me to the United States at the tender age of eleven. A country in which we had no immediate family, barely spoke the language, and had to work hard if we were to progress in life. These seemed like impossibilities back then; yet my parents reassured themselves that this sacrifice in their lives would be an investment and small price to pay in order to provide my brothers and I with a better life, greater opportunities, and hopes of a better future.

My first years in the United States were disastrous. I had no friends, could not grasp the material in any of my classes, and felt insecurity alone in a sea of kids who would constantly poke fun at the foreign child. However, as the years progressed I was able to turn those flaws into tools that would shape my character and habits for a successful future. I was no longer the insecure, quiet kid in the class; I found myself outgoing and doing better than most students in any of my classes.

I had come to love the beauty of the country, its history fascinated me, and the people were an improvement of what I known back home. Everything had an order, a set of rules and guidelines that just seemed to make everything work in harmony. The lifestyle was a habit by now, of course I always retained my culture and traditions.

By now High School had come and gone like a blink of an eye. I continued to put my heart and soul into my school work, while helping my parents at home, volunteering at the nearby hospital, and holding a job of my own. Needless to say I graduated within the top 15% of my class with honors, accepted with scholarship into various schools within my state, and with a solid and well-earned 3.5 GPA. My parents were so proud to see their investment finally growing and maturing. I was a High School graduate, and with college in my sight there was nothing to stop me.

The again, things were to turn bleak from there. Colleges said I was not qualified for in-state tuition. That my “status” would bar me from the scholarships I was eligible for, and that I would be considered an international student if I was to attend their institution. Depression quickly set in as I asked my parents what did we do wrong for me to be prevented from continuing my education? My parent also baffled looked back into the record to see what had gone wrong. We payed the fees, we came legally in the country, we waited, provided documentation, payed taxes, abided by all the laws of the country; yet, due to a small yet uncorrectable mistake followed by poor immigration advising we found ourselves out of status. After nine long years of paying for renewals, case processing, and taxes we were deemed unacceptable for this country. How was that possible, or even remotely fair?

Anger and panic were the only two things I knew back then, and continue to experience on a daily basis. After living nine years of normality without worrying about a little piece of paper, I was now to flip my life around to be scared and insecure about being deported, having my family detained, not being able to accomplish my dreams. What would I have to do to be accepted in society? How could I help myself? Are there any others like me in similar positions?

In midst of renouncing my college education, the answer flew to me almost by accident in form of chit chat on a car ride to a friends house. It was late September 2007 when my friend mentioned “too bad Senator Kennedy’s CIR proposal failed, the DREAM Act provision of the bill would have solved your problems entirely. Now that I think about it, its almost tailored for you since you fit all the requirements perfectly”. He was right, almost immediately I went home and started researching, just to be astonished as to how many kids where in my same position. Juan Gomez alongside Janet Reno (Attorney General during the Clinton Era) were holding a conference in Miami that day. Upon meeting them, they informed me about the forums online and the active movement that they were carrying out in order to move the DREAM Act forward, and have massive awareness of its benefits.

Addiction. I was overwhelmed with activities, phone call, movements, through the Dream Act Portal. Religiously I would check for updates on the site in hopes of news or comments that would shed light for the upcoming 2008 year. Sleepless nights, new friends, more activism a whole new set of doors opened with me. That was until October rolled in.

The bill was introduced as a stand alone measure in the Senate. Falling 8 votes short of the 60 in order to proceed without filibuster, the bill was defeated. A sad day for DREAMers across the nation.

A year has now gone by, and with the election of Barack Obama as our nation’s next president we are with high hopes that the bill will once again be resurrected. The movement has certainly grown a lot from what it was back in 2007. We have more alliances, more volunteers, bigger sites, and better strategies that will shed light and defeat any argument that the country needs DREAMers as an educated base to provide change and a better opportunity for these students.

We are not seeking for money, take in-state tuition away. We are not seeking to rip off anyone in line, make a line for us. We are not seeking to break any laws, we have abided by all the laws since we came to this country as children. All we want is a fighting chance, an opportunity to educate ourselves and serve the nation that we have grown in and come to know as the only home to us.

My hopes are high for the upcoming year. I have met so many people in the past month, and gathered support and love from all of those who believe not only in me but in DREAMers as a whole. It is hard to look back and not believe that we cannot achieve our goal, as my goals alone seem clear to me now thanks to the support and love of a single individual that I pay much respect to every day of my life.

Thanks to her and many others, I am now on route to many bright things in my “uncertain” future. I believe, for once that this may actually come to pass and that one day we can all sit back and be proud of our efforts.

Currently I am involved with Dram Activist, a blog that serves as a household for all of those who support our cause. I would like to take this opportunity not only to inaugurate my blog, but to invite YOU the reader to embark on this journey with us, to help us achieve what we have worked so hard for. The DREAM Act is nothing short of an investment for this nation, and I along many bright minds are willing to spend the time to explain to you the benefits of said bill.

Feel free to visit us at the following links:

www.dreamactivist.org
www.dreamact.info

And continue visiting this blog for updates and news as they develop.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Sincerely,

S.Aran.