| Feenmi |
01-06-2010 11:14 PM |
Pro-immigration 'dream' walkers make chilly stop in Lake Worth
An update on the DREAMers walking to DC.
Quote:
Four Miami-Dade County college students braved cold winds Wednesday to discuss the plight of undocumented immigrants on the steps of city hall as part of the Trail of Dreams walk — a months-long trek from Miami to the nation's capital intended to build support for immigration reform.
"I cannot ignore the fact that people in my community are disappearing," said Juan Rodriguez, 23, a native of Colombia who moved to the United States at age 6 and has since obtained permanent resident status.
Another Dream walker, Felipe Matos, 23, a native of Brazil, said he has won academic awards at Miami Dade College but cannot get a driver's license and can't work legally.
Dressed in a sweatshirt and blue stocking cap, Matos broke into song at city hall.
"We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes," he sang to a receptive crowd of about 50.
City Commissioner Cara Jennings read a proclamation declaring Jan. 6 as Dreamer's Day in Lake Worth to commemorate the walkers' visit.
Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies mingled with the crowd in case of conflict, but no problems arose at city hall or at the Lake Worth Resource Center, where the walkers and supporters enjoyed a hot lunch of rice, meat, beans and tortillas before continuing north to West Palm Beach, where they planned to participate in an interfaith service at St. Ann Catholic Church .
The walkers are scheduled to stop at the Mangonia Park offices of U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, on Thursday before continuing north toward Martin County.
Supporters so far have provided food and shelter for the walkers. Members of like-minded organizations such as the Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights have joined the walkers, who hiked along Dixie Highway from Boynton Beach to reach Lake Worth.
"We're trusting the goodwill of the people," said Carlos Roa, 22, a native of Venezuela and a student at Miami Dade College. "It's been a great experience, a very humbling experience."
The Trail of Dreams was named in part for the American Dream Act — proposed federal legislation that would provide conditional resident status to undocumented students of "good moral character."
To qualify, the legislation would require students to have come to the United States before the age of 16. They must have graduated from high school or earned a GED and must be able to prove U.S. residency for five consecutive years.
As proposed, conditional status would be granted to students for six years.
To be eligible to apply for permanent resident status, the students would have to graduate with a two-year degree from a community college or complete at least two years in college. They could also serve at least two years in the military with an honorable discharge, if discharged.
The Dream walkers said the name of their northward march was intended to resemble the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of American Indians from their home territories to Oklahoma.
"This time we want to do it for dreams, not for tears," Matos said.
The walkers are carrying a "dream quilt" created by the Latino Youth Collective in Indiana. Supporters at the Lake Worth Resource Center drew or wrote their dreams on fabric squares to be sewn onto the quilt, which has about 900 squares and is 50 feet long.
"We found it to be a very good tool in building solidarity," Felipe Vargas said of the quilt, comparing it to the quilt patterns used by Southern blacks to escape slavery via the Underground Railroad.
Vargas, a teacher at Indiana University, is driving the RV used as a support vehicle for the walkers, who plan to reach Washington in May.
When they arrive in the capital, the walkers say they hope to ask President Obama to use his executive powers to stop the deportation of students who were brought to the United States as children and to stop deportations that separate families with American-born members.
"We're going to deliver the dreams to Obama," Matos said.
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