BOSTON — Several dozen immigrant activists and students handed representatives of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown hundreds of letters in support of a bill that would give illegal immigrant students a pathway to citizenship if they join the military or finish college.
The coalition, chanting "education, not deportation," and "pass the Dream Act Now," marched from the Massachusetts Statehouse and along Boston’s historic Freedom Trail on Tuesday, eventually arriving at the John F. Kennedy federal building.
There, two representatives from the group known as the Student Immigrant Movement were allowed to go up to Brown’s office and deliver the more than 1,500 letters of support.
Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, of Illinois, last year introduced the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act in Congress. The proposal, also known as the Dream Act, would grant conditional legal status to young undocumented immigrants who successfully complete high school or the equivalent. They could qualify for permanent legal residency by graduating from college or a trade school or by joining the military within six years.
Brown, who was in Washington, has not said whether he would support the measure.
His spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said the Republican senator, who as a state senator opposed granting in-state tuition prices to illegal immigrants, would review the legislation if and when it comes before the Senate.
At the rally and march Tuesday, organizers stressed the military provision of the proposal and highlighted students who vowed to join the military if allowed.
Carlos Savio Oliveira, 22, of Falmouth, Mass., an undocumented immigrant from Brazil, said he wanted Brown to know he would join the U.S. Navy when the bill passed.
"What we want is an opportunity. That’s it," said Oliveira, who was brought over to the U.S by his parents when he was 8 years old. "We’re not looking for a handout. Once we get our opportunity, we can take care of ourselves."
