On Friday, October
23, supporters of the DREAM Act, along with House and Senate
staffers, attended congressional briefings about the Act. Our
deepest appreciation to all those who worked hard to make these
events a success, and special thanks to our distinguished panelists
and moderators. United We DREAM Network's statement on the briefing
is available
here.
Herta Llusho. In mid-July of
this year, Herta received a notice from the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) to pack all her belongings and leave the
country by August 19, 2009. A few days later, Herta's attorney
submitted a request for deferred actiont. The request included
letters from Senator Levin, Representative Kilpatrick, the
president of her university, her pastor, educators and friends.
Despite the amazing support received from her community, the
deferred action request was denied. She now finds herself in
legal limbo. Herta is currently studying electrical engineering
at the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), but she is due to
report back to the DHS office on November 9. Herta ended her
testimony by saying, "I do not know exactly when I will be
deported, but I do know that unless action is taken, I will be
sent back to a country that has become a foreign place to me."
Here is video of Herta's testimony:
Noe Guzman.
Noe was recruited by the Marine Corps, which was impressed when
he broke her school's pull-ups record. Noe also scored well on
the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (A.S.V.A.B.), the
entrance test to enlist in the U.S. military. When he showed up
to take the physical exam, he was ankle-shackled, and detained.
After a long and arduous process and an outpouring of support
from most of the residents in his 1,800-person community, the
judge in his case decided to stay his deportation. However, Noe
remains undocumented, unable to get a license and to work.
Noe's commitment to serve has not been diminished. He
stated, "I was willing to fight and die for this country.
Hopefully, through DREAM Act, I can still have that
opportunity." Here is video of Noe's testimony:
Louis Caldera.
Former Army Secretary Caldera said that he supports the DREAM
Act because of his experience as a state legislator, educator,
and former military officer and Army Secretary. Mr. Caldera
started by saying that while he was at West Point, he met many
sons and daughters of immigrants who represented this country
with tremendous patriotism. Later, as Secretary of the Army
during the Clinton Administration, he met recruiters who told
him of the many talented undocumented students they were forced
to turn away. The recruiters repeatedly appealed to him to find
a way of allowing these young people to earn their legalization
by serving in the military, which the DREAM Act would do. Mr.
Caldera also highlighted the importance of the DREAM Act in
ensuring not only our military, but our economic security as
well.
Dr. Robert Templin Jr.
Dr. Templin noted that if we are going to meet the President
Obama's goal of once again having the largest percentage of
college graduates by 2020 -- a goal that would require some 16
million more Americans to earn a two-year or four-year degree in
the next decade -- we are going to have to involve the growing
immigrant communities. Dr. Templin pointed out that not only
would the DREAM Act allow thousands of college-ready students to
achieve their goals, but it would dispel the myth that college
is not an option for thousands more immigrant kids who are here
lawfully and are deterred by the experience of the friends,
family and classmates who are told that they cannot achieve
their dreams because they are undocumented.
We picked up
another cosponsor in the House, with the addition of Representative
Xavier Becerra (D-CA). Rep. Becerra serves as vice chair of
the House Democratic Caucus and is a former chair and current member
of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Congratulations to DREAM
Team L.A. for all your hard work on this effort. Please
call to thank Rep. Becerra for his support.
The National
Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Southeast
Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), Hmong National Development (HDN),
and five Minnesota-based Asian American & Pacific Islander
organizations sent a letter to Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) urging
her to cosponsor the DREAM Act to "strengthen the economic
prosperity of Minnesota by utilizing all of its talent . . .
." A copy of the letter is available
here.
Upcoming Events
Washington, DC, screening of
"Papers." The movie "Papers" is coming to the nation's
capital.
"Papers" is the story of undocumented youth and the challenges
they face as they turn 18 without legal status. More information to
follow.
The
7th National Low-Income Immigrant Rights Conference, Dec. 6-8,
2009, in Arlington, Virginia (just outside Washington, DC).
Hundreds will gather in December to shape an agenda for immigrants’
rights in these historic times. Don't miss this opportunity to learn
about the latest policy trends, share your ideas, and help build the
movement.
Contact Us
We will report on any feedback we receive
from advocates on meetings, events targeting members of Congress, as
well as press clippings, so please forward all these items to
Tolu Olubunmi.
To subscribe to "DREAM Weekly Updates,"
email
Mai
Huynh, writing "Subscribe to DREAM listserv" in the message's
subject line and providing your contact information in the message's
body.
DREAM Weekly Update
Wednesday, OCTOBER 21, 2009
DREAM Act Congressional
Briefings, October 23, 2009
This Friday,
briefings about the DREAM Act will be held for House and Senate staff.
The goal of these events is to educate staff about the bill and answer
any questions. If one or more of your representatives or senators is
not a cosponsor, please call them and ask their immigration staffer
to attend the congressional briefing about the DREAM Act scheduled for
Friday, October 23, 2009. A list of House targets is available
here. Sample
House and
Senate invitations are included.
DREAM
students,
Herta Llusho and
Noe Guzman will be speaking at the Senate briefing. They will
be joined by
Louis Caldera, senior fellow, Center for American Progress Action
Fund, and
Dr. Robert G. Templin Jr., president, Northern Virginia Community
College, for the House briefing. Please support these events by
making sure staff from your Congressional Representative's office will
attend.
Gains
Thanks to all your efforts, we have
made great strides in the Senate. We currently have 30
cosponsors, with the addition of Senators Arlen Specter (D-PA), Ted
Kaufman (D-DE), and Carl Levin (D-MI). Please call
to thank all three Senators for their support.
We also picked up two additional
cosponsors in the House, for a total of 102.
Representative Vic Snyder (D-AR)
Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL)
(thanks to the efforts of Elizabeth Mauldin, NILC law fellow)
Carlos Saavedra is the newly hired
National Coordinator of the United We Dream Network! Prior to
joining UWDN, Carlos was lead organizer of the Student Immigrant
Movement (SIM) in Massachusetts. He was born in Peru and immigrated
to the U.S. along with his family when he was 12 years old. Carlos
will be housed in NILC's DC office but will spend a great deal of
time traveling around the country. More information about
Carlos can be found
here.
Upcoming Events
Washington, DC, screening of
"Papers." The movie "Papers" is coming to the nation's
capital.
"Papers" is the story of undocumented youth and the challenges
they face as they turn 18 without legal status. More information to
follow.
The
7th National Low-Income Immigrant Rights Conference, Dec. 6-8,
2009, in Arlington, Virginia (just outside Washington, DC).
Hundreds will gather in December to shape an agenda for immigrants’
rights in these historic times. Don't miss this opportunity to learn
about the latest policy trends, share your ideas, and help build the
movement.
Contact Us
We will report on any feedback we receive
from advocates on meetings, events targeting members of Congress, as
well as press clippings, so please forward all these items to
Tolu Olubunmi.
To subscribe to "DREAM Weekly Updates,"
email
Mai
Huynh, writing "Subscribe to DREAM listserv" in the message's
subject line and providing your contact information in the message's
body.
DREAM Weekly Update
Wednesday, OCTOBER 14, 2009
DREAM Act Congressional
Briefings, October 23, 2009
House and Senate briefings for
congressional staff about the DREAM Act are scheduled for Friday,
October 23. The goal of these events is to educate staff about the
bill and answer any questions.
Invited Panelists:
Louis Caldera, senior fellow, Center for American Progress
Please support these events by making sure
staff from your congressional representative's office will attend.
If your representative or one or
both of your senators is NOT a cosponsor, please call him or her and ask
the immigration staffer to attend the congressional briefing about the
DREAM Act scheduled for Friday, October 23, 2009. A list of
representatives in the House whom we are targeting is available
here.
The briefing in the Senate is
scheduled from 11 AM to 1 PM in SC 6 (in the U.S. Capitol building).
The briefing in the House of
Representatives is scheduled from 2 to 4 PM in Room 2141 of the
Rayburn House Office Building.
Gains
Currently we have 101 cosponsors for
the House and 27 cosponsors in the Senate.
On Tue., Oct. 13, several events were held
around the country in support of comprehensive immigration reform.
At the event in Washington, DC, Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL)
outlined the core principles for a comprehensive immigration reform bill
he plans to introduce in the coming week. The United We DREAM
Network released a
statement in support of the events.
Hundreds will gather in December to shape
an agenda for immigrants’ rights in these historic times. Don't
miss this opportunity to learn about the latest policy trends, share
your ideas, and help build the movement.
Contact Us
We will report on any feedback we receive
from advocates on meetings, events targeting members of Congress, as
well as press clippings, so please forward all these items to
Tolu Olubunmi.
To subscribe to "DREAM Weekly Updates,"
email
Mai
Huynh, writing "Subscribe to DREAM listserv" in the message's
subject line and providing your contact information in the message's
body.
DREAM Weekly Update
Thursday, OCTOBER 8, 2009
Gains
This week the DREAM Act reached an
important milestone -- 100 cosponsors in the House. After a
couple months of there being little movement in the number of Senate
cosponsors, the DREAM Act picked up an additional 5 cosponsors in the
last 3 weeks, for a grand total of 27 cosponsors in the Senate,
including Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Bernie
Sanders (I-VT), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Al Franken (D-MN).
Your representatives and senators need
to hear from you!
Action for the Week
If one or more of your congressional
representatives (in the House and Senate) is NOT a cosponsor, please
call him or her and ask the immigration staffer to attend the
congressional briefing about the DREAM Act scheduled for Friday, October
23, 2009. A list of House targets is available
here.
The briefing in the Senate is
scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in SC 6.
The briefing in the House of
Representatives is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. (room # TBA).
More information to follow!
Media
This public service announcement about the
Dream Act was produced by Wisconsin's Voces de la Frontera.
Contact Us
We will report on any feedback we receive
from advocates on meetings, events targeting members of Congress, as
well as press clippings, so please forward all these items to
Tolu Olubunmi.
To subscribe to "DREAM Weekly Updates,"
email
Mai
Huynh, writing "Subscribe to DREAM listserv" in the message's
subject line and providing your contact information in the message's
body.
