Illegal immigrants pin hopes on reforms; Outcasts seek to come Out of the Shadows

Alicia J. Alvez came to the United States from Uruguay illegally 20 years ago and has since hoped for immigration reform, all the time fearful that she could be deported at any time.

“I came here to work,” the 38-year-old Leominster resident said. “I am not stealing. I am not doing drugs. I have no record at the police department. We do find a way to live and survive, take care of our families and give them a better life. That is why we came to this country.”

Ms. Alvez's 19-year-old niece, Laura B. Palleiro, was just a year old when she was brought into this country from Uruguay by her parents. She graduated from Leominster High School with honors last year and wants to be a nurse, but she cannot get financial help for college because of her illegal status. It would take her years to pay for the courses on her own, she said.

Like millions of others, the two women are trying to live their lives in a country where they feel trapped by a broken system. Both feel an allegiance to this country and want to gain legal status, but are unable to do so because of an immigration bureaucracy that many, including the Obama administration in Washington, believe is dysfunctional and overwhelmed.

http://www.telegram.com/article/2009...907050377/1116

aww I'm from Uruguay, and it is the first time I ever read about another Uruguayan dreamer Regardless the nation we originally came from, we all share the same struggle, though.

im from uruguay too