President Obama may have reaffirmed his commitment to Comprehensive Immigration Reform, again, but DREAM Act students aren’t having it anymore. Tired of living in limbo and having their experience used as a wedge issue in the wider immigration reform movement, they have been stepping it up hardcore through a series of civil disobedience actions and now hunger strikes aimed at getting a stand alone DREAM Act.
The escalation was set off by the brave actions of students in Arizona, who now face deportation following a sit-in in Senator John McCain’s Arizona office. Fear is not winning however, as more students risk arrest and deportation in the name of having their DREAM fulfilled.
Yesterday, 9 U.S. citizen students were arrested in an act of solidarity with their undocumented brothers and sisters for blocking Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.
From a statement by one of those arrested:
My name is Maria Garcia. I’m a 5th year UCLA student pursuing a degree in biological anthropology. I was born to immigrant parents who always put an emphasis on education. As I stand with other allies; I know I am in the right place. I am here to be in solidarity with every individual who has come out as undocumented and for those who remain in the shadows out of a fear resulting from unjust laws. I am here to fight alongside people who believe in the right to an equal education regardless of one’s status. Students are done with just simply DREAMING we are now taking ACTion. We know our friends and families need the DREAM Act NOW!
In San Francisco, California, another 7 students held a peaceful sit-in at Senator Feinstein’s office.
In Michigan, seven students have started a hunger strike, targeting Senator Stabenow so that she co-sponsors the DREAM Act.
Striker Dayanna along with her sister Betty, are amongst the undocumented students taking part in the strike. Dayanna states, “I went to school here, I played sports, I was in the band, I’m a normal student, and a piece of paper shouldn’t change that.”
If you would like to support the DREAM Act and students who would benefit by its passage, visit The DREAM is Coming.
When will our elected officials hear these calls???? Surely the time has to arrive any day. The cost of inaction will be immense as the undocumented population continues living in the shadows. These stupid ignorant people don't seem to grasp the fact that bringing these undocumented out of the shadows will highly boost the economy and allow identification of who's actually here.
