Washington D.C. – On Dec. 15, seven undocumented immigrant youth, now referred to as the #Dream7, risked deportation by staging a sit-in outside of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office in the Capitol building, as part of a wave of protests demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act now.

They were arrested and sent to the D.C. jail, where they continue to stage a hunger strike. Among those striking are prominent leaders in the movement for justice for undocumented immigrants, including Belén Sisa, Erika Andiola and others.

Support for the #Dream7 is growing on social media. They are demanding that congress vote before the end of the year on a clean DREAM Act. A clean Dream Act refers to legislation that would give protection from deportation and a path to legal permanent residency and/or citizenship to undocumented youth who were enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that President Trump cruelly ended in September, leaving over 800,000 immigrant youths at risk of deportation. The “clean” part of it means that legal status for DACA recipients should not be paired with anything that would harm other immigrants, such as increased militarization of the border or increased raids and arrests of immigrants in the workplace or community.

Sisa’s mother Isa O’Neal says, “What my daughter and the others are doing is part of the struggle! It's our duty to fight for our freedom, it's our duty to win!”

The Legalization for All (L4A) Network, a national network of grassroots immigrant rights organizations around the U.S., supports the struggle for a clean DREAM Act. The network also encourages organizers to continue to fight against any and all deportations regardless of what congress does.

#WashingtonDC #DREAMAct #Dream7 #CleanDREAMAct

En los últimos años la mayor parte del movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes se enfocó en exigir que el congreso o el presidente tomaran acción para detener las deportaciones y legalizar a los inmigrantes indocumentados. Tras la falta de acción por parte del congreso y la creciente presión de los movimientos de base, el presidente Obama finalmente introdujo una acción ejecutiva, presentando un nuevo programa de acción diferida llamada DAPA y expandiendo el programa de acción diferida del 2012 para los llegados de infancia conocido como DACA.

Sin embargo esta acción ejecutiva es temporal y no cubre a todos los indocumentados. Arbitrariamente excluye al menos la mitad de los inmigrantes indocumentados y no propone dar estatus legal permanente a aquellos que califican. Dicho esto, esta medida tomada por Washington es la más importante en las últimas décadas realizada a favor de los inmigrantes.

Tomando en cuenta que el partido Republicano controla actualmente el congreso, nadie espera una ley de reforma migratoria en los próximos dos años, y debido a la acción ejecutiva que acaba de realizar el presidente Obama, es improbable que este inicie alguna otra acción. Sin embargo millones de trabajadores inmigrantes continúan amenazados diariamente con la deportación, y viven oprimidos bajo las sombras. Hacia donde entonces se dirige la lucha por los derechos de los inmigrantes?

Luchas estatales y locales por la igualdad: licencias de conducir, educación, alto a las deportaciones

No todos los activistas que luchan por los derechos de los inmigrantes estaban enfocados en Washington en los últimos años. A nivel local, un poderoso movimiento popular exigía #Ni1más deportación. Estas campañas en contra de las deportaciones individuales se concentraron en exigir un alto a la colaboración entre la policía local y cárceles del condado con ICE (Departamento de Servicios de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas). Luego de que una serie de victorias lograran que varios gobiernos locales y estatales se rehusaran a cooperar con el programa de deportación “Comunidades Seguras”, estas campañas locales procedieron a exigirle al presidente que pusiera un alto nacional a las deportaciones.

Parte de la acción ejecutiva de Obama fue la eliminación del programa de deportaciones “Comunidades Seguras”; programa que estaba siendo contrarrestado por los activistas a nivel de condado y estatal. La campaña #Ni1mas deportación, que lucha localmente en contra de las deportaciones de individuos, es mayormente responsable por haber presionado exitosamente la acción ejecutiva presidencial.

Igualmente, han habido varias campañas victoriosas a nivel estatal en los últimos años, más notable en California, para lograr que los inmigrantes tengan acceso a licencias de conducir, al igual que acceso a la educación superior a través de las llamadas “DREAM Acts” (leyes estatales a favor de los DREAMERS.) El acceso a licencias de conducir elimina una de las principales causas de deportación: los inmigrantes indocumentados que son detenidos por la policía por manejar sin licencia son entregados a ICE y luego deportados. Las llamadas “DREAM Acts”, permiten que los inmigrantes indocumentados puedan pagar la matrícula estatal en las universidades, en vez de tener que pagar una matrícula internacional mucho más alta.

En los estados donde los políticos conservadores tienen más poder también se han llevado a cabo luchas defensivas en contra de leyes anti-inmigrantes como la SB 1070 de Arizona, al igual que la ley del estado de Georgia que prohíbe que los estudiantes indocumentados asistan a las universidades del estado. En el periodo actual, estas campañas defensivas continuarán siendo de gran importancia en los estados donde ya existan o se lleguen a proponer leyes reaccionarias.

No obstante, el movimiento no debe permanecer a la defensiva. En este nuevo periodo se deben crear audaces campañas a favor de las licencias de conducir y por la igualdad en matricula estudiantil en todos los estados donde todavía no se hayan aprobado.

Estas campañas tienen el mérito de incluir a todos los indocumentados y no corren el riesgo de estar atadas a medidas de represión en la frontera o en el lugar de trabajo; tal y como lo han hecho en todas las propuestas de ley para una reforma migratoria nacional.

Estas campañas a nivel estatal que exigen “licencia para todos” y “educación para todos”, son importantes componentes en la lucha por la igualdad de las nacionalidades oprimidas en los EE.UU y deben ser intensificadas en este periodo.

A pesar de la acción ejecutiva aprobada en noviembre, las deportaciones no cesarán. El hecho real es que los grandes números de deportaciones continuarán siempre y cuando el imperialismo norteamericano continúe destrozando a México y a Centro América. Incluso con la intensa militarización de la frontera y la opresión interna que existe, las personas continuarán emigrando hacia el norte. Las campañas en contra de las deportaciones deben continuar – #Ni1mas deportación continua siendo nuestra meta.

Defender y expandir DACA y DAPA, oposición a la militarización de la frontera y a las redadas laborales

La mayoría Republicana en la Cámara de Representantes del Congreso Nacional, ya aprobó una propuesta de ley para revocar la acción ejecutiva del presidente Obama. Aunque esto debe ser visto como parte del teatro político anticipando las elecciones del 2016, ya que el presidente vetara este tipo de iniciativas, es importante oponerse y señalar quienes son los políticos que descaradamente proponen las deportaciones y medidas de represión masivas.

El movimiento tiene que utilizar este periodo para exponer los males de la militarización de la frontera, la colaboración entra la policía y ICE, y de las redadas y auditorias laborales. Lo que necesitamos es que cada vez más personas se opongan a estas medidas represivas que continúan siendo incluidas en las propuestas de ley para una reforma migratoria comprensiva. Lo que queremos es la legalización de todos y completa igualdad, no mas represión. De igual forma queremos exponer y luchar en contra de la poli-migra, la colaboración cada vez más estrecha que existe en todo el país entre la policía local y ICE, la cual solo busca reprimir aun más a los inmigrantes.

Como demanda inmediata a nivel nacional, el movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes debe exigirle al presidente que expanda DACA y DAPA para que cubra a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados. El típico inmigrante indocumentado lleva aproximadamente 13 años en los EE.UU. La acción ejecutiva que fue aprobada en noviembre tiene un sabor agridulce, ya que millones de personas fueron excluidas arbitrariamente. El hecho de que todavía existe la enorme contradicción de que millones de trabajadores indocumentados, que son vitales para la economía de los EE.UU, continúan siendo profundamente oprimidos por la falta de estatus legal, nos demuestra por qué es necesario continuar avanzando por la legalización de todos y por la igualdad.

Hasta que el congreso no pase una ley para legalizar a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados, nuestra demanda debe continuar siendo la expansión de los programas de DACA y DAPA para que abarquen a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados. Aunque temporal, la realidad es que estos programas les permitirán a millones de familias trabajar con permiso en los EE.UU. Esto presiona aun más al congreso para legalizar a todos los inmigrantes en vez de continuar separando familias que ya han echado raíces en este país.

#StPaulMN #DREAMAct #licenciasDeConducir #NoMasDeportaciones #Not1More #Ni1mas

Two years ago, the DREAM Act – which would legalize some immigrant youth who go to college or join the military – passed the House and came within five votes of passing the Senate, with every Republican and five Democrats voting against it. After shutting that effort down, now Senator John McCain (AZ) and retiring Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) and Jon Kyl (AZ) have introduced a Republican alternative to the DREAM Act they’ve dubbed the “Achieve Act.”

Immigrant rights activists quickly dismissed the Achieve Act as unacceptable. Some have dubbed the Republicans’ alternative to be the “nightmare version” of the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act itself has gone through several increasingly restrictive iterations over the years, in an attempt by Democrats to woo more Republicans to support it. Those efforts to woo Republican support via more restriction and repression have so far failed, though after the recent election the Republicans are again open to discuss immigration bills that include some mix of repression and legalization.

The new Republican Achieve Act is even more restrictive than the most recent version of the DREAM Act. It would funnel more youth into the military and make it harder for them to go to college. It would also never allow immigrants to get citizenship, only residency.

Another immigration bill the Republicans introduced in the lame duck session is a pro-business bill that would grant green cards to immigrants who get high tech advanced degrees in U.S. universities. Up to 55,000 immigrants could get visas annually if they’re in advanced degree science, technology, engineering or math fields. But it would not allow the total number of immigrants to increase; on the contrary the proposal would also eliminate the diversity visa lottery, which grants 50,000 green cards a year to immigrants from countries that don’t have a large number of immigrants in the U.S. The diversity visa lottery is one of the few avenues open for African immigration to the U.S. as well as immigration from some other underrepresented countries. Almost half of the 50,000 diversity visas go to immigrants from Africa and almost a quarter of all immigrants from African entered through the diversity program in 2011.

This focus on work visas, particularly for highly educated, high-skilled immigrants, at the expense of visas for immigrants from underrepresented countries and for lower-skilled immigrant workers, is the general approach that big business wants in immigration reform. The Republican proposal to push currently undocumented youth into a military track while preventing them from ever getting citizenship appears to be a non-starter, an attempt to juggle between big business interests and the Republicans' rabidly anti-immigrant base while trying to sound like they aren’t anti-immigrant.

President Obama and congressional Democrats are unlikely to give these Republican bills a hearing, as Democrats are publicly announcing plans to push for “comprehensive immigration reform” in the upcoming regular congressional session. They are planning to pick up where their last stalled comprehensive proposal left off, with a bill that would have a mix of increased repressive measures like a more militarized border and increased “interior enforcement” of immigration laws and a guest worker program with some sort of legalization that is yet undefined in scope or process. Immigrant rights activists are preparing to push for immigration reform legislation that legalizes all immigrant workers and that doesn’t increase repressive measures against immigrants or expand a guest worker program.

#WashingtonDC #DREAMAct #immigrationReform #AchieveAct

Immigration lawyer and National Lawyers Guild member Rachel Lang explained the details of the new policy that President Obama announced on June 15. The deferred action policy is not a new law and does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship for immigrant youth. Nor is it the DREAM Act. It’s simply a new temporary policy and this president or the next president could change or cancel it at any moment. But despite the limitations of the policy, it’s the first substantive motion toward legalization and away from repression against immigrants since the amnesty that Congress and President Reagan approved in 1986. President Obama announced this new policy under pressure from undocumented immigrant youth protesting and occupying his campaign offices in several cities across the country demanding that he take action.

Rachel Lang explained that to qualify for this new policy, a person needs to have come to the U.S. when they were under 16 years old, they have to have lived here for five years, they have to be in high school, have a high school degree or be pursuing a GED or have a GED. They also have to not have been convicted of several types of crimes and must not be considered a threat to “national security.” There are many different particular situations and many details of the new policy that are still unknown because the specific rules and the application forms won’t come out until mid-August.

Emilia, a representative NAVIGATE, also spoke at the event. NAVIGATE is a group organized by immigrant youth to help other immigrant youth overcome barriers to staying in school and to help them apply to and get into college. She said that this new policy comes after many years of collective struggle by immigrant youth and this shows that collectivity and organization are the keys to winning victories in the struggle. She also emphasized that this is only the first step and that the community needs to get more organized to continue the struggle for permanent legalization for youth who qualify for the two-year deferred action, and also to fight for legalization for their parents and the rest of the community who doesn’t qualify for deferred action.

Israel Esquivel of the Mexican consulate also spoke at the workshop about the services that the consulate has for people from the Mexican community applying for deferred action.

William Martinez, a MIRAc member who helped organize the forum, said, “We’re happy that a lot of people came to learn about this new policy. We’re going to keep working with the community to inform everyone. The struggle continues to stop deportations, not just of students but also of their parents and families. We hope everyone will participate to continue educating and mobilizing our community and our allies. That’s how we’ll win.”

#RichfieldMN #MIRAc #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #DREAMAct #undocumentedImmigrants #deferredAction

Tampa, FL- About 30 people protested outside of the Democratic Party campaign office on June 13. They were there to say no to President Obama's massive deportations of undocumented people and to demand the passage of the Dream Act. The protesters consisted mostly of undocumented youth and allies from around the Tampa area. In almost 100 degree Florida weather, the protesters rallied for two hours waiting to hear from someone inside. While they rallied, many speakers came forward to talk about a range of issues affecting undocumented people throughout the U.S.

Groups there included United We Dream, Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), Student/Farmworker Alliance and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They were all there together to fight for legalization and the right for people to an education. The Dream Act, as many people talked about, provides partial legalization for young undocumented people who have graduated high school and want to enroll in higher education. All of the Dreamers in Tampa spoke of how they wanted to further their education without fear of deportation. They talked about living in constant fear and oppression at the hands of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the police.

The crowd marched in circles in front of the office chanting, “Hey Obama! Don't deport my Mama!” “Money for jobs and education, not for racist deportation!” and “El pueblo vive, la lucha sigue!” Meanwhile speakers from different groups came up to talk about their demands. Marisol Marquez of SWER spoke, “Though we may disagree with some things of the Dream Act, like requiring black and brown people to fight overseas in wars of oppression, this still is a pathway to citizenship. We say stop the deportations and let young people have the right to an education!” Speakers continued to come up while the group marched and chanted in front of the office. As the protest came to a close, the group posted a letter to the door of the office with a list of demands.

This protest was part of a nationwide day of action in support of the people's rights to citizenship, employment and education. Across the U.S. groups came together to tell President Obama to stop the deportations and to demand a better future for undocumented people. Under the Obama administration the U.S. has seen more than a million deportations. Many of the Dream Act supporters tell the stories of families broken apart by ICE and the constant deportations. On top of this, the past four years has seen an increase in ICE's budget. This has led to the record number of arrests and deportations over the past few years.

The Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), first introduced in 2001, provides a pathway to legalized citizenship for young undocumented people. However, Democrats and Republicans have both refused to pass the act during the Bush and Obama administrations. Since 2001 undocumented youth have taken to the streets with increased militancy demanding the right to be in the U.S. These brave people risk it all to fight for a better future.

On June 14, the years and dedication to the fight came to the fore. President Obama announced that he would be enacting a Dream Act-like measure that essentially would have the same benefits of the Dream Act. Over the years, the Dreamers endured a life of struggle, dedication and risk of deportation. Without the dedication to the fight, this victory would not have been won. Though this is a small victory for undocumented people and a blow the institutional racism aimed against Black and brown people in the U.S., it still proves that through action and struggle, people can win.

The Dreamers will not stop now. Though most of their demands have been met, they will not stop until the deportations stop. It is not just about demanding a pathway to citizenship or a right to education. The Dreamers, like everyone else, demand that the racist discrimination instituted by the U.S. government stop. Whether it's the deportation of undocumented youth, Trayvon Martin and the police murders of other African-American youth, the Islamophobia and racial profiling of Muslim people, or the systematic arrests and lockups of all people of color – the fight is the same. Only through continuous action will they be resolved, and the Dreamers vow to continue. The struggle moves forward.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #undocumentedWorkers #DREAMAct #DreamDefenders

The youth were protesting the new law banning undocumented immigrant youth from accessing higher education in Georgia. In a statement issued through TheDreamIsComing.com, one of the protesters, Georgina Perez, said, “We had a simple request of the president; do not comply with the ban on undocumented youth. Instead of hearing us out, when trying to deliver a letter [on April 5], the door was almost shut on us.”

While ICE agents interviewed the youth at the beginning of their detention, ICE did not move to place them in deportation proceedings.

“We wanted to challenge the system and the system completely broke down,” said Viridiana Martinez, one of the protesters. “It was a victory in that it proved that even in the South, in the state that holds the biggest detention center, undocumented youth took a stand and faced deportation and the system broke down.”

When asked about the connections between the struggles for immigrants rights in North Carolina and Georgia, Martinez told Fight Back!, “We came into this understanding the connections with North Carolina and Georgia. This is the South which historically has oppressed people of color and continues to oppress people of color.”

Martinez continued, “The immigrant youth movement needed to take a stand and to make that statement here in the South. You hear all this stuff about Arizona, but you rarely hear about North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia. And things are only getting worse after the DREAM Act failed. There’s been no relief for our community, just more enforcement.”

Martinez emphasized, “Fear is the biggest weapon of the anti-immigrants,” and urged other undocumented youth to come out of the shadows and take a stand.

With bans on education pending in the North Carolina legislature – HB 11 and HB 343, introduced by Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow) – the struggle to demand justice for undocumented youth will escalate in the coming weeks and months. Martinez concluded, “It’s no longer about advocates speaking for us, but it’s about acting – taking a stance through actions. That’s what we’re bringing back home.”

#AtlantaGA #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #DREAMAct #NCDreamTeam #TheDreamIsComing #RepGeorgeCleveland

(April 7 update: The detained youth have been released)

Durham, NC – Two North Carolina youth are among the eight students who blocked traffic in an act of civil disobedience in Atlanta, Georgia on April 5. Earlier in the day, hundreds of youth marched through Atlanta chanting “Undocumented and unafraid!” and “Education not deportation!” After presenting a petition to Georgia State University’s president, eight undocumented youth occupied a street until their arrest.

Georgina Perez, Viridiana Martinez, Jose Rico, Dayanna Rebolledo, Andrea Rosales, David Ramirez, Maria Marroquin and Dulce Guerrero are being held in a detention center in Atlanta.

A newly passed law in Georgia bans undocumented students from enrolling in Georgia’s five most selective public universities. The ban also requires colleges to check the residency status of all applicants.

Jose Rico, one of the young people arrested and a member of the North Carolina DREAM Team, said, “I’m doing this because our communities are living in fear. 51,000 undocumented youth had their dreams torn apart when our senators voted against the DREAM Act. They are trying to criminalize our existence.”

Viridiana Martinez, another member of the NC DREAM Team who was arrested at the protest, said, “Rallying and protesting are no longer enough. Remaining in the shadows is no longer acceptable.”

Organizers with the NC DREAM Team note that two bills in North Carolina’s General Assembly, HB 11 and HB 343, would block undocumented students from accessing higher education in the state.

A vigil and protest is planned in Raleigh, NC at 6:30pm on Thursday April 7 to demand freedom for Viridiana and Jose Rico, as well as the other detained youth. Supporters are also encouraged to donate to the bail fund.

(Video Credit: MundoHispanico)

#AtlantaGA #DREAMAct #GeorgiaStateUniversity

Raleigh, NC – Over 80 people gathered here, Feb. 1, outside the North Carolina General Assembly to voice strong opposition to HB11. Undocumented students are already faced with the burden of paying out-of-state tuition. This bill, proposed by Rep. George Cleveland, would go further in barring undocumented students from having access to any community colleges and universities in the state. Because of North Carolina's new Republican-majority legislature, the bill is likely to pass.

But those who took part in the vigil and organized the rallies across the state are determined to stop the passage of HB11.

Protesters held signs that read, “Don't let HB11 get to debate,” and “We don't want another Arizona!” while several powerful speakers talked about their experiences being undocumented and struggling for their right to education. Rep. Paul Luebke of Durham also spoke and denounced the draft bill as “mean-spirited.”

The vigil in Raleigh was one five actions that took place across North Carolina. Other rallies took place in Asheville, Greenville, Greensboro and Charlotte. The vigils also honored the 51st anniversary of the historic 1960 Greensboro sit-ins, which helped lead the path to de-segregation in the 1960s.

The Raleigh vigil was organized by the Adelante Education Coalition, with the presence of the North Carolina DREAM Team and El Centro Hispano, among other progressive groups.

Mauricio Castro, with the North Carolina Latino Coalition, closed the rally by stating, “We have a lot of work to do, but we shall overcome. History is on our side, and the future is waiting for all of us.”

The vigil ended with chants of “Education not deportation!” and, “What do we want? Education! When do we want it? Now!”

#RaleighNC #DREAMAct #HB11 #AdelanteEducationCoalition #NCDreamTeam #NorthCarolinaLatinoCoalition #ElCentroHispano

Minneapolis, MN – On Dec. 10, seven students here started a hunger strike to demand that Congress pass the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a proposed law that would give some undocumented immigrant youth the possibility to gain legalization if they go to college or join the military.

The students gathered for a vigil the evening of Dec. 10 at El Colegio high school in South Minneapolis to announce the start of the hunger strike and mobilize community support. The hunger strike is based at El Colegio, where students have covered the walls of the school’s gallery with art and murals dedicated to the DREAM Act. Over 40 people came to the kick-off vigil.

According to hunger striker Alejandra Cruz, “We decided to start the hunger strike in solidarity with the San Antonio, Texas DREAMers who had gone 31 days with no food. Also to put pressure on the Senate and show them that we are one, we’re together in the same struggle. We believe in our dreams of higher education and to be able to contribute to this society.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act last week by a vote of 216-198. The Senate was slated to vote on the DREAM Act the morning after the House vote, but tabled it because there were not enough votes to block the possibility of a Republican filibuster against the bill.

While passing the Senate is far from assured, it’s worth noting that this is the first legislation that includes a significant legalization component which has passed in either house of Congress since the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which among other things granted amnesty to around 3 million undocumented immigrants.

The 1986 bill, and all other immigration reform proposals in Congress since then, have grouped legalization provisions that activists support together with increased restrictions and repression that most activists have opposed. While the DREAM Act does not include any provisions that increase repression, the Democratic leadership reintroduced a new version of the DREAM Act in recent weeks that restricts the number of youth that would benefit from it and also increases the ‘conditional status’ waiting period from six to ten years.

Despite overall support for the DREAM Act, many activists have been critical of the military provision of the bill. The original version of the DREAM Act included a non-military service option. Critics of the military provision point out that many immigrant youth don’t finish high school, so if the choice is only between college and the military, more undocumented youth will be tracked into the military. They call for a non-military service option to be added back into the DREAM Act. DREAMers respond that it may or may not be true that more youth will join the military than go to college, but since there are in fact undocumented youth who want to join the military, those youth should have the same rights in all spheres of life that other young people have, including the right to join the military.

It is a dramatic turnaround that the DREAM Act passed in the House of Representatives, and still has a chance of passing the Senate to become law. A year ago the congresspeople who tend to be the most supportive of immigrant rights were telling activists that it wouldn’t be possible to pass any immigrant rights legislation this year. During his electoral campaign in 2008, President Obama promised to pass immigration reform in his first year in office, but instead the administration has increased deportations and border militarization, while not taking any action on immigration reform legislation that included legalization, such as Rep. Gutierrez’s proposed CIR-ASAP bill.

Rather than being disillusioned by politicians’ inaction, the DREAM students pushed forward with a series of dramatic actions to demand that Congress pass the DREAM Act this year. A group of DREAM students risked deportation by doing a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office in Arizona. Four students ‘came out’ publicly announcing they were undocumented during a walk for justice from Florida to D.C. to demand action on the DREAM Act. In Chicago the Immigrant Youth Justice League declared themselves “undocumented and unafraid,” publicly announcing their undocumented status and demanding that Congress take action. And there have been a series of DREAM Act hunger strikes in front of congresspeople’s offices from North Carolina to New York to Texas to Indiana. The determination of these students, along with broad support from the Latino community and social justice movements, rallied the immigrant rights movement out of an impasse and has brought the DREAM Act to the verge of passing Congress.

Democratic Party leaders in the outgoing lame duck Congress, which still has Democratic Party majorities in both houses, have vowed to try to pass the DREAM Act despite Republican efforts to block it before the session ends in the next week. Most observers assume that if the lame duck session of Congress doesn’t pass the DREAM Act, that any immigrant rights legislation will likely be dead for the next two years in the more conservative incoming Congress.

Over the past few weeks students have mobilized supporters to make hundreds of thousands of calls to Congress. The hunger strike in Minnesota is another bold action that is captivating the imagination of thousands of people while not allowing Congress to delay yet again taking action for immigrant rights.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #ChicanoLatino #HungerStrike #DREAMAct

These protests are just the most visible sign of growing organization and militancy of undocumented students and youth. In Chicago, the Immigrant Youth Justice League formed to fight for legalization and to have colleges support undocumented students. The California Dream Network is made up of organizations of undocumented students in more than 30 community colleges, state universities and University of California campuses. Student from Florida, New York, Michigan, Arizona, Missouri, Kansas and other states have participated in the national actions to highlight the struggle of undocumented students.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) welcomes and supports these students who are fighting for legalization. We believe that the partial legalization of students and youth would be a victory for the immigrant rights movement and would help to energize the struggle for a more general legalization of the undocumented. It is estimated that 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools each year. They could legalize under the DREAM act.

At the same time, the FRSO opposes the military service option of the DREAM act and supports a community service alternative to college. Most undocumented high school graduates are working-class and many do not have the opportunity to go to college. At the same time more and more public colleges are cutting classes, programs and admissions while raising fees, making the dream of a college education even more distant. For these youth, the DREAM act as it stands could be a recruitment tool to get more Latino and other immigrant youth to be cannon fodder for U.S. wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. We don’t want the dream of legalization to become a nightmare of disability and even death. There is a need for a community service option in the DREAM act for youth who are not college bound, so that they are not forced into military service.

Along with the struggle to legalize undocumented students and youth, there is also the need to fight the anti-immigrant, right wing movement that wants to exclude undocumented students from colleges. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor of California, is one of the more prominent right-wing politicians who have said that the undocumented don’t belong in public colleges and universities. California is one of more than ten states that grants undocumented resident students in-state tuition (but not financial aid), which could be in danger if Republicans make strong gains in the November elections. The strong defense of the gains that undocumented students have made needs to go hand-in-hand with the struggle for legalization of undocumented students and youth.

#UnitedStates #StudentMovement #DREAMAct

Chicago, IL – 50 immigrant rights activists and community members gathered outside of the Illinois Republican Party offices here, July 21, show solidarity with undocumented youth who were arrested in Washington D.C. the day before. On July 20, many youth, including nine from Chicago, were arrested as they staged a sit-in inside the capitol’s lobby and at several representatives’ offices. The youth were demanding the passage of the Dream Act, which would legalize undocumented students.

Jose Herrera, a member of the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL) stated, “We are here because yesterday, nine of our IYJL members were arrested for what they believed. We are here to show solidarity with our members. What they did is what all of us should be doing, which is standing for their rights to be legalized and the right to achieve a higher education.”

The Chicago youth, along with other undocumented youth from Virginia, New York, California, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri and Michigan, were part of “The Dream Is Coming to D.C.,” three days of actions in support of immigrant rights.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #DREAMAct #ImmigrantYouthJusticeLeague

Raleigh, NC – Three young immigrant women are on day six of a hunger strike to demand that North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (Democrat) support the DREAM Act. The women, Viridiana, Loida and Rosario, of central North Carolina, have vowed to continue their hunger strike until Senator Hagan publicly endorses the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 1.5 million undocumented youth in the United States. Immigrants’ rights activists across the country have been pushing Congress to take action on the bill.

The hunger strikers, who are known as the North Carolina Dream Team, urge supporters to call Senator Kay Hagan's office and leave a message stating support for the DREAM Act and for the hunger strikers. Senator Kay Hagan's D.C. number is 202-224-6342 and the Raleigh office number is 919-856-4630.

The following interview was conducted with Viridiana and Rosario on day six of the hunger strike at their encampment at the North Carolina State Capitol.

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Joanna Banegas, a student at NC State University, and Monserrate Alvarez, a student in Raleigh, kicked off the fast on May 28 with a rally at the North Carolina Capitol building. At the rally, Banegas declared, “I am fasting because I believe it is a way to demonstrate how vital the DREAM Act is for everyone, not just for undocumented students.”

Even as the 1.5 million second hunger strike ended, a new one by three North Carolina students began on June 18 in downtown Raleigh, also targeting Kay Hagan to support the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth that entered the U.S. before the age of 16, have no criminal record, and complete a college degree or two years of military service. Many in the immigrants’ rights movement are opposed to the military duty requirement and want to see community service instead.

The hunger strikes are part of the “Senator Hagan Co-Sponsor my Dream Campaign”, a movement to ask Democratic Party Senator Kay Hagan to become a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act. Nayely Perez-Huerta, a community organizer for El Pueblo and a supporter of the campaign, said, “Our youth and allies have decided to fast because they recognize the importance of the DREAM Act. We believe in the benefits this legislation would bring not only to the undocumented students that have grown up in this country, but also to the wellbeing of our state and nation.”

The passage of the DREAM Act would be an important victory for the immigrants’ rights movement and provide real benefits to millions of undocumented immigrant youth. While pushing forward the struggle for partial reforms such as the DREAM Act, progressives in the immigrants’ rights movement continue to demand “Legalization Now!” and full equality for all undocumented youth and workers.

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