DREAM Act form letter - Act NOW! - disregard after 12/06
 

I was happy to find a website which allows me to communicate with the DREAM Act principals (you) directly. I have a strategy for promoting passage of the DREAM Act that I would like to share with you. But first a little background about me. I am 55 years old, born and lived in New Jersey all of my life (except for a brief stay in Tucsan, AZ) and worked as a computer engineer (mostly software development) for the past 30 years. I am married and have a 24 year old daughter. I am also guardian of a 23 year old young man who is like a son to me. He is from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico and was forcibly brought across the border by his parents when he was 8 years of age and attended school here ever since. He has been a straight “A” student and graduates junior college next May with a degree in computer graphics design. I’m sure this all sounds familiar to most of you. He, like all of you, has demonstrated an incredible degree of patience and I deeply admire him (and all of you) for that. But my patience is running out.

Hence, the form letter below is my latest in a 3 year string of letters to Congressmen on this subject. This letter is structured to break out the DREAM Act from the comprehensive immigration reform issue. Interestingly, I discovered that the House did just that very thing this past April by introducing their own American DREAM Act (HR 5131). I wonder, are they thinking as I am? I sure hope so. I did a side-by-side comparison of H.R.5131 against the S.2075 (the DREAM Act) which was rolled into S.2611 under TITLE VI, Chapter 3, Subtitle C, and found them to be essentially identical. The letter (below) leverages on this new bill.

So, if you think this is a good idea, please copy this form letter and re-format it properly in a word processor, print it out, and distribute it to your friends and loved ones who are eligible to vote. Ask them to sign it then you mail it to their local U.S. Representative placing their name and return address on the envelope. (Your name and address does not need to appear anywhere) One easy way to find their U.S. Representative is to go to http://capwiz.com/aila2/mailapp/ and select the “Elected Officials” tab. I believe the optimum time of mailing should be around August 28 so it arrives in Washington just when they are returning from summer recess. I don’t know how many of the 60,000 DREAMERs access this website but even if it is only 1 percent and your friends and loved ones send this letter, it can make an extremely powerful impact. Remember, with all that is wrong in our country, the legislative process still has teeth as compared with many other countries. I can’t think of anything else more potent to do right now. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Let’s keep hope alive. God bless you all.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

<name and address of the person signing this letter>


The Honorable _______________________
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Representative _______________________:

Now that the U.S. Congress is in summer recess, I am getting discouraged that a sensible compromise will not be reached for the Senate Bill S.2611 (Immigration Reform) and subsequent passage thereof, by the end of 2006. This must also be frustrating to you and all your colleagues who put so much effort into drafting and debating this bill. I believe that many of your colleagues want a comprehensive solution to our immigration problem that includes secure borders and fair, compassionate treatment of undocumented workers who are established residents here in the U.S. with their families. If we honestly look at the role U.S. trade policies and short selling of the Peso played in the 90’s, can we place all the blame on our neighbors to the south for heading north?

But what I am most concerned about is S.2075 (the DREAM Act) which was rolled into S.2611 under TITLE VI, Chapter 3, Subtitle C. In the event that you and your colleagues do not believe that you can pass a compromised version of S.2611 by year’s end, I urge you to focus on your own version of the DREAM Act, (H.R. 5131) known as the American DREAM Act, for passage this year.

I feel strongly about this because these young Americans never violated any immigration laws and therefore should not be bogged down by the complexities of S.2611 which deals with illegal immigration. These are young men and women who were brought here at a young age when they had no say in the matter, attended school here, and are ready to contribute to our economy and society. For God’s sake, why are they being treated like criminals with no access to legal jobs, social security numbers, or drivers’ licenses?

I am a registered voter and want to stress to you that this issue is of utmost importance to me. If there were ever a cause of such clarity to fight for since the civil rights movement, this is it. This is one fight in your career on which you will be able to look back and know you did the right thing and feel real good about yourself. Thank you for your support.




_________________________________________

The DREAM Act was included in S. 2611 because it seemed like the place to have it to finally get it through the legislative process. However, by this point its not really a secret that whatever comes out of this "immigration reform" is probably not going to be either H.R. 4437 or S. 2611, perhaps something new, perhaps nothing. So this letter is a good way to remind the Representatives that the DREAM Act is long overdue and shouldnt be left there to die along with the rest of the bill.

Its a very well formated letter, thank you.

So, any dates on which we all should sent it? I know you already said August 28, but can we make it official?

Juang, et al:

August 28, is just a suggestion for the reason I stated. It's never too soon to send it. Thanks.

I thought the "American Dream Act" is this law concerning uh...mortgages for middle class families?