NILC Press Release on DREAM Act Re-intro

March 26, 2009


Washington D.C. - Today, the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Lieberman (I- CT) Mel Martinez (R-FL), and Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Senate and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Cao (R-LA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Devin Nunez (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) in the House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the United States years ago as undocumented immigrant children, and who have since grown up here but are being denied the ability to fully contribute to society.

The DREAM Act would provide certain undocumented youth conditional legal status and eventual citizenship, if they attend college or join the military. It would also allow immigrant students access to higher education by returning to states the authority to determine who qualifies for in-state tuition. “This critical piece of legislation makes it possible for many deserving young people to realize their dream of a college education” said Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center, “and thereby contribute to the future of this country.”

For the first time since it was first introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act enjoys strong backing of House and Senate leadership, all of the relevant committee chairs and President Obama, who was an original sponsor of the legislation when he was in the Senate.

NILC commends the strong leadership shown by Senators Durbin and Lugar and Representatives Berman, Diaz-Balart and Roybal-Allard. “To be competitive in today’s global economy, America depends on an educated and skilled population,” said Adey Fisseha, Interim Federal Policy Director of NILC. “The DREAM Act realizes the benefit of having a more multicultural, multilingual U.S. workforce. We urge the House and Senate to pass the DREAM Act and President Obama to sign this important bill into law,” added Fisseha.




March 26, 2009
Washington, DC – Today, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in the U.S. Senate while Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (D-FL) introduced it in the House of Representatives. The DREAM Act would correct a flaw in our immigration laws that currently provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children even if they have spent most of their lives here and have stayed in school and out of trouble. The DREAM Act would provide such a pathway that would take six years and apply only to those who entered before 2004 at the age of 15 or younger, and only if they graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service. Change to Win chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger released the following statement:

“Since the beginning, America has always believed that if you work hard, dedicate yourself and give back to your community, you can achieve just about anything regardless of your family background. From the day our forbearers threw off the yoke of empire, to the dream of building a more perfect union or putting a man on the moon, we would not be the same nation if we had continued to hold people back based on skin color or religion, gender or national origin, or the past actions of their parents.

“Men and women, black and white, Hispanic, Scotch-Irish Jewish, Catholic and every other combination that make this the greatest country in the world have all contributed to our most important achievements. The DREAM Act will contribute to America’s future prosperity by freeing a new generation to build a stronger America.

“We have a choice: free these young people to realize their full potential so that they can contribute all of their talent to the future we will all share, or keep them in a place of uncertainty full of fear and lost opportunities. Among these students are countless future nurses, leaders, teachers, military heroes and inventors of the next great technological or medical breakthrough, people we can’t afford to hold back. SEIU’s 2 million members strongly support this bi-partisan legislation because it reinforces what America has always stood for – if you work hard you can make a difference and make the world a better place.”


March 26, 2009


Washington, DC ––The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, commends Senators Richard Durbin (D–IL) and Richard Lugar (R–IN) for reintroducing the “DREAM Act” today and Representatives Howard Berman (D–CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D–CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R–FL) for reintroducing the House version of this legislation, the “American Dream Act.”These bipartisan bills would allow immigrant students who are raised in the U.S. and graduate from U.S. high schools to attend college and start on the path to citizenship.

“One of the best ways for our nation to recover from the current economic crisis is to have an educated workforce. Students must have the opportunity to pursue a college education,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Since the ‘DREAM Act’ was first introduced in 2001, too many of our nation’s best and brightest students have graduated from high school with no prospect of going to college. Their experiences illustrate one of the many problems of our dysfunctional and outdated immigration system. We cannot continue to waste this talent.”

Every year, American high schools grant diplomas to 65,000 immigrant students who were brought to this country at a young age. Many of these youth have attended U.S. schools for most of their lives, but their immigration status bars them from opportunities that make a college education affordable, including in-state tuition rates, loans and grants, most private scholarships, and the ability to work legally. Despite their long-term residence in the U.S., these students are unable to further their educational accomplishments or fully contribute to the only country they know and call home.
The “DREAM Act” and the “American Dream Act” would address these challenges by restoring states’ rights to determine residency requirements for in-state tuition and establish a path to obtaining legal status for immigrant youth.

“NCLR remains committed to advancing the ‘DREAM Act’ as a part of comprehensive immigration reform. We see this as the first step in the upcoming immigration debate in Congress. Our country is deprived when hardworking immigrant youth are unable to pursue a college education and contribute to our economy. These students have extraordinary potential, and we must cultivate it to address the challenges before us,” Murguía concluded.

heyyohhhhh!

Everyone call!!

Seriously! I met with my Rep's aide on Tuesday and she said that the problem with DREAM supporters is that they don't call, while the antis do. And she urged us to tell everyone to call and ask their reps to support DREAM.

So, please please please call. It's really important!

Congressional Switchboard:
202-224-3121

We're on it.......this is our time!

Stop writing damn blogs and call!!!

I just called my senators for the 4th time today. It sounds like they're getting annoyed, should I stop?

No. They're usually like that, but we never stop.

on it! lets go dreamers lets roll....the final battle has arrived

Thursday, March 26, 2009

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar cosponsored the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which was introduced Thursday, March 26, 2009, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). The bill would help young, undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United States to earn legal status by obtaining an education and completing national or public service.

The measure would grant conditional legal status to youth who successfully complete high school or equivalent. They then would have six years to graduate from college or a trade school or join the military. If successful in one of those areas, the conditional legal status would become permanent and they could then move towards U.S. citizenship.

“Approximately 50,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools each year; however, without legal status, it is difficult for them to secure a job or afford to attend college,” Lugar said. “This measure will provide these young people with an incentive to move towards permanent residency while pursuing an education or other worthwhile service.

“Undocumented young people usually arrive with their families and have no understanding of their immigration status. They should be encouraged to complete an education and move toward permanent residency.”

To be eligible, a child must have been under the age of 16 when they entered the country and be physically present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding the date of this measure becoming law; have earned a high school diploma or GED; be a person of good moral character; and not be inadmissible or deportable under criminal or security grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Presently, the law penalizes states that grant a post-secondary benefit, such as in-state tuition, to undocumented students unless the state also provides that same benefit to out-of-state students. This legislation will allow states to grant in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants.

“If enacted, I would urge Indiana to take advantage of this change in federal law,” Lugar added.

In 2000, Lugar worked with the government of Mexico to establish a diplomatic office in Indianapolis and it has been staffed since 2002.

Lugar was an original cosponsor of the DREAM Act in the previous two Congresses.

I'm going to tell my "abuelita (grandma)" to pray for the DREAM Act, she's kick ass, old school catholic, I really feel faith next to her, although I don't go to church.

If you read this, PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES, AND TELL THEM TO SUPPORT THE DREAM ACT!