DREAM Act Portal Forum - Update on yeterday's arrests and today's press conference

I'm sure most of you have seen this by now but in case you haven't.

The following was taken from thedreamiscoming.com:

Quote:

PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED FOR TOMORROW: DREAM SIT-IN PARTICIPANTS SLATED TO SPEAK, HALF HAVE BEEN RELEASED, HALF REMAIN IN CUSTODY

Today, July 20th, over 20 immigrant youth staged a sit-in in various congressional offices in Washington D.C. to urge congressional leadership to take action and pass the DREAM Act, a narrowly-tailored, bipartisan bill which would grant immigrant youth a path to citizenship.

At the time of this release, all students have been arrested, and several have been released.

The following DREAMers have been released: Sonia Guninansaca, Diana Martinez, Rosario Lopez, Lulu Martinez, Jose Franco, Ricardo Quinonez, Uriel Sanchez, Ireri Unzueta, Eddy Dominguez, David Morales.

The rest remain in custody: Laura Lopez, Jose Don Torres, Isabel Castillo, Erika Andiola, Myrna Orozco, Dulce Matuz, Reyna Wences, Tania Unzueta, and Nicolas Gonzalez.

Senator Reid’s office arrested students before Senator John McCain’s office, the last two offices to issue arrests. It has also been noted that a brief phone call inside Senator Reid’s office with Congressman Gutierrez occurred. Gutierrez attempted to dissuade the students from getting arrested citing that “we [Durbin and Gutierrez] disagree with your strategy on the movement”.

“We continue to hear the exact same thing we have been hearing for 10 years. Will Senator Reid put DREAM Act up for a vote or will he decide to lose the Latino vote? If Democrats are behind Reid then Democrats should be behind us because our communities are behind us. We are not going to deal with your debates any longer. We need action. We risk our freedom to the freedom of millions.” Nicolas Gonzalez, from Chicago, Illinois.

“I came when I was 1. I am 22. I will not wait another 20 years for my petition to be reviewed by a judge. I will do all I can to push the DREAM Act to the floor for a vote, and with civil disobedience one faces criminal charges. I am willing to risk it all for the DREAM Act, and for the future of migrant youth, who like me, graduate from college without the opportunity to use their degrees. I need the DREAM Act now.” Laura Lopez, from California.

There will be a press conference tomorrow discussing today’s events and the urgency of the DREAM Act. The press conference will be tomorrow July 21st, 11:00 am, at the west side of the U.S. Capitol, near the corner of 1st Street, NW and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW at the Spring Grotto.

The events of today symbolize the urgency for the passage of the Dream Act. We need answers, not excuses.

At least 65,000 undocumented immigrant youth graduate from high schools every year, and many of them struggle to attend institutes of higher education and the military. The DREAM Act will grant youth who traveled to the United States before the age of 16 a path to citizenship contingent on continuous presence in the country, good behavior, and the attainment of at least a two-year university degree or a two-year commitment to the armed forces.

For more information, visit www.thedreamiscoming.com, follow @dreamnow on Twitter, and search the hashtag #dreamact on Twitter.

Again, these individuals are so brave.

More info on who to contact and how to help soon.