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Congress can help American Dream become reality for many Hispanics
#1
07-22-2010, 10:23 AM
Member
Joined in Oct 2007
64 posts
I saw this today and thought everyone should look at it. I know that everyone here knows that DREAM ACT is being brought up again by Senator Reid although we don't know when. Personally I feel there is one thing different now from past 2 times. We have had some momentum in the media. With people like Carlos stepping up in front of the cameras as he did on CNN and the Trail of Dreams and the hunger strikes or maybe its just the Arizona Law that has brought the divisiveness to the forefront.Every single day we see major TV networks doing a piece on Immigration.I can feel that the time is drawing near. It could be this year or next but something is bound to happen.The whole CIR bit is not happening soon I feel but bits n pieces like Dream and AgJobs have better chances now.So guys lets build on this momentum this summer.Try calling all our respective Congressmen and make it a fight to the finish.
http://www.keepersoftheamericandream...ces/news/dream
Congress can help American Dream become reality for many Hispanics
By Ernesto Portillo Jr. Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, July 18, 2010
Carlos Ivan Martinez still has a dream. His dream of many years is that some day, hopefully soon, thousands of deserving young people will be able to continue their college education.
The thousands are undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents and who today know only this country as theirs. These students — many of them motivated by the same dreams that have driven this country for more than 200 years — cannot continue their education because of their illegal status.
Many states, including Arizona, have imposed strict requirements on students here illegally who want to enroll in public colleges and universities. In addition to paying higher tuition rates, students have to declare their legal status.
Martinez is hoping Congress will pass the Dream Act, proposed bipartisan legislation which would allow undocumented students to attend college without deportation and allow them to pay in-state tuition. The legislation would also allow students, who have no criminal records and have complied with the requirements, to eventually apply for residency.
The Dream Act would not benefit Martinez but he supports it because it would help those students who want to attend college.
Martinez, 28, who has been in this country since he was 9, attended the University of Arizona where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in software systems engineering.“I was not given anything. My education was not a gift,” said Martinez.
He earned his degrees before 2006 when Arizona voters approved Proposition 300 which requires non-U.S. citizens to pay out-of-state tuition and denies them public financial aid.
Despite his advanced education and potential, Martinez works as a laborer with his bricklayer father or wherever he can find a job.
“I’m not taking anyone’s job,” said Martinez, whom I interviewed and wrote about, along with his brother, in 2002 and 2003.
Martinez and his older brother, Salvador Martinez, came to Tucson from Cananea, Sonora, with their parents. The brothers knew no English but they knew they had to work hard.
They did and they made their parents proud.
Salvador now works legally. He is a legal resident and is eligible for citizenship through his marriage to an American citizen. He and his wife have a son, born on the Fourth of July.
Carlos Martinez wants a chance at the American Dream through the Dream Act.
However, opponents argue the legislation is a “back-door” entryway to legal residency and citizenship. Others oppose the piecemeal legislation and would prefer it be part of an overall comprehensive immigration reform package.
But Martinez and Dream Act students argue immigration reform is a long shot or even impossible given the current political climate. Pass the Dream Act and at least give young people an opportunity to education and legal employment, Martinez said.
“Good things come to those who wait,” he said, reciting a mantra he uses to sustain his patience.
These self-starting, highly motivated students could work at higher paying jobs, serve as positive role models and make positive contributions.
Dream Act students are not going to disappear, he said. They are here to stay, study and work, he added.
Tucson is his home. The United States is his country.
http://www.keepersoftheamericandream...ces/news/dream
Congress can help American Dream become reality for many Hispanics
By Ernesto Portillo Jr. Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, July 18, 2010
Carlos Ivan Martinez still has a dream. His dream of many years is that some day, hopefully soon, thousands of deserving young people will be able to continue their college education.
The thousands are undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents and who today know only this country as theirs. These students — many of them motivated by the same dreams that have driven this country for more than 200 years — cannot continue their education because of their illegal status.
Many states, including Arizona, have imposed strict requirements on students here illegally who want to enroll in public colleges and universities. In addition to paying higher tuition rates, students have to declare their legal status.
Martinez is hoping Congress will pass the Dream Act, proposed bipartisan legislation which would allow undocumented students to attend college without deportation and allow them to pay in-state tuition. The legislation would also allow students, who have no criminal records and have complied with the requirements, to eventually apply for residency.
The Dream Act would not benefit Martinez but he supports it because it would help those students who want to attend college.
Martinez, 28, who has been in this country since he was 9, attended the University of Arizona where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in software systems engineering.“I was not given anything. My education was not a gift,” said Martinez.
He earned his degrees before 2006 when Arizona voters approved Proposition 300 which requires non-U.S. citizens to pay out-of-state tuition and denies them public financial aid.
Despite his advanced education and potential, Martinez works as a laborer with his bricklayer father or wherever he can find a job.
“I’m not taking anyone’s job,” said Martinez, whom I interviewed and wrote about, along with his brother, in 2002 and 2003.
Martinez and his older brother, Salvador Martinez, came to Tucson from Cananea, Sonora, with their parents. The brothers knew no English but they knew they had to work hard.
They did and they made their parents proud.
Salvador now works legally. He is a legal resident and is eligible for citizenship through his marriage to an American citizen. He and his wife have a son, born on the Fourth of July.
Carlos Martinez wants a chance at the American Dream through the Dream Act.
However, opponents argue the legislation is a “back-door” entryway to legal residency and citizenship. Others oppose the piecemeal legislation and would prefer it be part of an overall comprehensive immigration reform package.
But Martinez and Dream Act students argue immigration reform is a long shot or even impossible given the current political climate. Pass the Dream Act and at least give young people an opportunity to education and legal employment, Martinez said.
“Good things come to those who wait,” he said, reciting a mantra he uses to sustain his patience.
These self-starting, highly motivated students could work at higher paying jobs, serve as positive role models and make positive contributions.
Dream Act students are not going to disappear, he said. They are here to stay, study and work, he added.
Tucson is his home. The United States is his country.
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