I just found this website and saw stories just like mine so I joined. I guess there’s a lot of people that are with me on the DREAM ACT… This is my story.

I came here in 1998. I’m currently 21 yrs old. I came to Chicago when I was in 4th grade… my parents had been here for about 2 yrs already. My parents hired this couple who had a kid in California. The kid was about the same age as me, like 8 yrs old and happened to also look like me. So the couple gave me instructions to just pretend like I was sleeping in the car while they showed the patrol officers “MY DOCUMENTS”. I didn’t ask questions for the whole trip, I didn’t even know what was going on. All I knew was that I was on my way to see my real parents in Chicago.

So I got to Chicago and my parents enrolled me in school to finish off the 4th grade here. I learned English really quick… I got used to living in Chicago. After that, I went to junior high. I did really well there; I joined wrestling and soccer and everything was good. After that, I went to high school and by sophomore year (when I was 16), I was really happy because I thought I was gonna get my license in driver’s ed. I got my permit for 6 months and then I asked my teacher one day in class, “What do I now to get my license?” and he explained to me and 5 other kids just like me that we’re ” UNDOCUMENTED” that we weren’t going to be able to get it [a license] due to our [immigration] status and not having social security. You all know the rest….

By my junior year, I was fascinated about cars and my dream was to become a certified Auto Technician. I was even admitted into this program that would prepare me for it. I was in the program both my junior and senior year. By my senior year, I had learned a lot. That’s when my instructors were asking me, “So, which college are you going to?” I was like this one or maybe this one. Some kids in the same program as me were already being accepted by different colleges for auto mechanics. Some car manufactures would even pay for your tuition as long as you worked for them after that, which was great! Job security and tuition paid, what else could you ask for? But in every application I filed, I always left the Social Security and drivers license number section blank. So they never called me for anything. All I was able to do was finish high school and, since then, have been struggling to find work. All my Dreams just met a DEAD END.

Now, I just work in a pizzeria. I’m just stuck here for now…

Thank you for reading my story and let’s not give up on this Dream!

Emily took the time to write and send this to us, and we encourage you to do the same!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

You have been tagged in this note because you have been identified as a leader in the community who has the potential to make a big impact in the lives of our immigrant neighbors and students. Please take just a few minutes to read the note below:

I had the unique opportunity to attend Arkansas’ first ever DREAM Camp March 6-7. Thanks to our trainers from the North Carolina United We Dream campaign, the DREAM Camp successfully educated our group on the need for immigration reform as well as trained us on how to take action to support reform. Sixty participants ages 16 to 60 attended the DREAM Camp, and over half of these participants were undocumented students from Arkansas high schools. Being a tall blonde born and raised a white suburban neighborhood who has experienced few barriers to achieving my dreams, I was definitely a minority among the attendees.

Prior to this training, my interest in immigration reform was primarily academic. I have spent the last several months researching the history of immigration control and its contemporary consequences for my master’s thesis, and, as a result, have treated immigration reform as a logical argument to be won. Though I understood real people are affected by our ineffective immigration system, my arguments for immigration reform were typically issues of the head. I focused on statistics and facts when trying to convince others we need to change our current immigration system, and though the numbers are important, my experience at the DREAM Camp opened my eyes to the true impact a racist, sexist, and classist immigration system has on our immigrant neighbors and friends.

At the DREAM Camp, I was humbled as I talked face-to-face with dozens of courageous Arkansas students who shared their very personal immigrant stories with me. In fact, many of these students “came out” for the first time ever and publicly identified themselves as undocumented. Their stories were emotional as they spoke of forced family separation, police brutality, racism in their classrooms and neighborhoods, and legal restrictions preventing them from achieving their dreams. Yet their stories were hopeful and brave as they looked forward to a life post-immigration reform that would be filled with more opportunity for them and their future children. After hearing their stories, immigration reform was no longer a matter of the head for me. It became a matter of the heart. Immigration reform is personal. Very personal. For example …

I met Luis. Luis has just graduated from the U of A with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was top of his class in high school and the first to graduate from college in his family. Both he and his mother are filled with a sense of pride for his accomplishments and look forward to the day he will attend medical school, but unfortunately because Luis crossed the border without legal documentation when he was five years old—a journey he made in order to reunite with his mother after three years of separation—he is unable to apply for the financial aid needed to pay for medical school or obtain a medical license after graduation. At five years old, his only dream was to see his mother again. Now, his dream is to go to medical school, but the only way he will achieve this dream is to obtain financial aid, something for which undocumented students in Arkansas are not eligible. The passage of the DREAM Act is only hope for Luis as well as for thousands of other driven, passionate, and hopeful undocumented students.

Luis’ story is one of many that would be positively affected by the passage of the DREAM Act. A student from Heritage High School in Rogers, Arkansas came up to me and said, “To see ‘white’ people here gives me hope. I now know that people outside of my Hispanic community understand my challenge. It gives me hope that we are fighting for something bigger than ourselves…and that people are listening.” She plans to graduate high school with straight A’s and looks forward to getting her college degree, but she, too, is undocumented after traveling with her family to Arkansas when she was just a toddler.

I write this letter to remind all of us of just how personal immigration reform is. It is easy to remain in the comfort of our privileged lives, but when so much injustice is happening right here in our communities, we MUST cross the border between apathy and passion, inaction and action, and stand up in support of our immigrant neighbors and friends. The sixty people who attended the training this past weekend are motivated more than ever for change. We will be organizing local events, rallies, marches, and vigils around the state of Arkansas in order to spread awareness for the need for immigration reform, eradicating 287G, and passing the DREAM Act. In the next several months, similar efforts will be organized nation-wide from Florida to D.C. to California to Arizona. Will you join us?

I ask you to join me in supporting our immigrant neighbors by 1) educating yourself on the issues, 2) spreading the word to your friends and family, 3) contacting your public officials and encouraging them to support immigration reform, and 4) participating in the many upcoming immigration reform events in NWA. In addition, May 18 is a very important primary in which we will vote for our future political representatives. Make sure you vote for candidates who are supportive and understanding of immigrant rights.

SAVE the DATE: March 21st a rally will take place at the Jones Center in Springdale. Members of NWA will come together to show our solidarity to the reformers in D.C. who will be marching on the same date. More information will be coming soon.

I am dedicated to raising awareness in my community about the critical need for immigration reform. Will you join me?

You can read more about the DREAM Act and the efforts of Reform Immigration for America at the following links:
DREAM Act website and petition: http://dreamact.com/?p=56
DREAM Activist website: http://www.dreamactivist.org/
Reform Immigration for America: http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/
Trail of Dreams: http://www.trail2010.org/blog/

Sincerely,
Emily Ironside
Arkansas Dreamer
“Si se puede”

http://www.dreamactivist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/undoc-tag1.jpg

To the shock of the world, we’ve learned that after more than seven decades of saving hard-working Americans, one of our most beloved superheroes, Superman, is an undocumented immigrant.

Otherwise know by his Kryptonian name, Kal-el, Superman has been living in the United States for over seven decades and has decided to come out of the shadows, once and for all.

Originally from the planet Krypton, The Man of Steel crash-landed in Kansas sometime around 1938, and was “adopted” by Martha and Jonathan Kent, who named him Clark. There are no legal records of this adoption. There are absolutely no records of a Clark Kent other than his Daily Planet bylines and desk tag.

No fingerprints on file, no green card, no social security number, and no driver’s license issued to a Clark Kent.

This begs the question- who exactly is Clark Kent?

Among being a son, a friend, a neighbor, and a superhero, Mr. Kent is a college graduate. Mr. Kent was able to attend Metropolis University, where he majored in everything and graduated at the top of his class.

“We had no idea that Mr. Kal-El was undocumented,” says Metropolis University’s Dean of Admissions. “He was a regular all-American linebacker. Without him we wouldn’t have gone to state. He’s one of us.”

Since getting an education, Old Blue Eyes has been working without pay at the Daily Planet on the sly. “I only hope one day that the world will recognize not only my ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but also the potential I have to contribute to the American economy as an educated college graduate.”

“My parents made great sacrifices to make sure I came here,” stated Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El, “and they wanted me to pursue the American dream. I believe I have done so, and would like for the good people of America to recognize me as well as the work I do. Also, I pay taxes, and when I retire from ‘the superhero biz’ I’d like to collect on my social security. I think I deserve it, especially after having saved the planet multiple times.”

His colleagues Batman, Spider-Man and Captain America could not be reached for comment, however it should be noted that Spider-Man is of Polish decent, Batman has Italian immigrant parents and Captain America was born in Australia and only recently became a naturalized citizen.

Check out Glenn Beck, his “Tree of Revolution”, and the “Reconquista”.

As Media Matters indicates, he has chosen to debase the student movement and the immigrant movement at the same time by saying that part of the intention of the student protests across the country is, of course, to return the southwest to Mexico.

In the fall of 2007, campus Republicans at UCLA accused DreamActivists at UCLA of wanting to return California to Mexico.

I was a senior at UCLA, and the DREAM Act had just fallen short of a filibuster in the U.S. Senate.  That was the last time a pro-legalization vote took place in Congress.  This was about 29 months ago. In an effort to bring more awareness to the issue by challenging their Republican counterparts, the Democrats at UCLA decided that the DREAM Act would be a good topic for their quarterly debates.

The debate went as smoothly as any debate can go, and the DREAM Act followed discussions on education reform and access to health care.

After our opening statement, a Latino member of the Republicans stood and spoke about how undocumented people did not need papers because they were already in their rightful land.  It was a sarcastic avoidance of a pressing issue for a party that is already destined to be an eternal minority in California, and seemed to achieve the same thing that Republicans achieve on a national scale as they ignore the New American vote.

In response to our stories and our facts, they continued to mock and disrespect all immigrants to the United States.  A guy with a fake accent and multiple Hispanic surnames reduced our entire lives to a bad joke while we were still scared of even being at the university in the first place, because of the hatred that seemed to spew from everywhere.

There were about one hundred people there, including DREAM students from UCLA, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Northridge, and Santa Monica College.  I knew some of them from the California Dream Network, a huge “coming out” effort that was the first statewide space for undocumented student organizing.  From the stage, I saw some of them begin to cry when our dreams were spat on for the sake of their childish humor.

This is what Glenn Beck is trying to do on national television.  That is why I remembered this incident.

That day, I stayed and fought.

I spoke about our parents, the sacrifices our parents have made, our daily realities, and, of course, our dreams.  We formed a circle outside, first with only the undocumented people and then with some allies. People cried, chanted, and hugged.  Others made excuses for a poor excuse of a joke as they left in shame.  I never spoke to some of the Republicans again.  Others apologized vaguely throughout my entire senior year.

From then on, a group of friends (citizens and dreamers alike) always refer to that day as 11/27 Never Forget.  For some, they would never forget because there was real pain caused by the stupidity of the prank.  For me, it was a special feeling because not only had the Democrats come out in support, but some of the Republicans saw that they wanted to state their support for the DREAM Act after seeing how passionate and rational their fellow students were about the situation.

There is a common-sense, moderate Republican party out there, and many of them are college-aged.  They could support the DREAM Act.  Are we currently challenging them to make that choice? We should.

Come out, undocumented students! You can pass the DREAM Act and change the world!

In anticipation of Coming Out of the Shadows Week,  stories written and submitted by undocumented youth will be published daily. More stories shedding light on the experiences of DREAMers can be found here. This is Tiffany’s story.

I came here on a B-2 Visa with my mom and dad when I was 5 in 1992. My mom is disabled (half of her body does not function) due to a stroke that occurred a year after I was born. She came here for medical treatment. We had an approved family petition, of which I was a derivative beneficiary, through my grandfather who is a Filipino World War II veteran and prisoner of war. My mom and I stayed while my dad left to work in the Philippines. My mom eventually had my status changed to a student F-1 status and she maintained her status. My brother came a few years later. After about 5 years, my mom left America because she could no longer keep extending her immigration status because she did not want to break any laws. She decided to go back to the Philippines with my dad. She wanted my brother and I to stay here because she believed we would have a better life and opportunities. I was 10 when she left and stayed with my aunt. I was sort of conscious about my status but I did not know what it meant to not be a U.S. citizen until I turned 16 and was told I could not get a driver’s license or work. I didn’t understand the situation I was in. No one renewed my student visa and I unconsciously overstayed. I didn’t even know anything about it. This led me to feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and fear of having to leave the only place I knew. When I turned 18 and was about to graduate high school, it hit me when I found out that I might not be able to go to college. I then found out about AB 540 and was able to go to a community college. When I was 19, my parent’s petition was about to become current, but due to backlogs in the immigration system, it was stalled for about 2 years, enough time for me to age out of my derivative beneficiary status, making that option no longer an option.  I thought I would still be able to get through my parent’s original priority date, but, due to a recent change and inconsistent decisions from the bureaucracy, I might not have that option and [might] have to wait another 10-20 years. I didn’t grow up with my parents and I have not seen them for about 13 years now. We wanted to be together as a family. Just when we got the opportunity, we found out I am out of luck because I am over-age. So I must go back in line to wait- when I’ve been waiting since I was 4. The immigration system is broken and reform must be done NOW. I worked hard my whole life, through high school and even harder in college in hopes of becoming a nurse one day. Going through the nursing program is difficult in itself, but I have to deal with the fact that I won’t be able to help anyone after I am done. I have seen nurses who don’t even enjoy their jobs and don’t like to help, which makes me so mad because I know that once I become a nurse, I would give the best care that I could. I also want to take care of my mom in ways I couldn’t take care of her when I was a little girl. I also take care of my grandfather who is now blind and depends on me to help him. If only given the opportunity to do so, I know I can contribute to my community and take care of those who are in need of help. With the DREAM Act, I would be able to help others and finally be able to unite with my family and do so much more for them.

RISE

In “Embracing My Undocumented Immigrant Identity,” Alberto Ledesma writes a unique personal account of his previous undocumented status, and about diverse experiences of immigrants that he believes go undocumented within Chicano/a literature and history; nevertheless, inspired by his own and his family’s experiences, this proves to be a past he with which he is still coping. He writes,

“That even now, 25 years after normalizing our status, I held my breath whenever a police cruiser pulled close. But my undocumented immigrant past is not something I can easily talk about. In fact, years after becoming a citizen, I avoided talking about it altogether, even when I felt the urge to do so. The more I suppressed the urge, the greater it grew.”

Even he, who no longer has to be afraid, articulates similar sentiments felt among DREAMers today in saying,

“Psychologists say that fear is an emotional response to real or imagined dangers. Humans react to threats by confronting, evading or becoming paralyzed by them. The truth is that I don’t really know what will happen to my family or me if I publish the details of my undocumented immigrant past.”

What I found to be particularly interesting was his thought process, his negotiation of his history and identity while still feeling the need to legitimize his past and tie it to how significant his past is in his present reality, saying,

“What my confrontation with Jim made clear is that unless Americans of undocumented immigrant heritage break our silence about what it feels like to live undocumented, unless I publish this and other work, the notion that undocumented immigrants are brain-dead parasites incapable of intellectual and ethical reflections regarding their social, political, and historical condition in American society will persist. And, unless these ideas are challenged, undocumented immigrants will continue to be regarded solely as cheap rental equipment, machinery devoid of spiritual or intellectual worth.”

I would argue that DREAMers all over the country have been participating in this challenge of legitimizing their presence within a country that may sometimes react with backlash and rejection. Whether it be in speaking out, in marching, or holding their leaders accountable, youth have been actively working to articulate their experiences and make sure their voices are not subsumed within mainstream narratives of immigration reform.

Learn how you can become part of the movement here.

Thank you RISE for helping spread the word and for increasing awareness!  For more information on RISE or how to get involved, email them at risecochairs@gmail.com.

Coming out the Shadows with the YLC!!!

1. To participate in 3.10 coming out day or the 3.15 vigil outside of 26 Federal Plaza….email Martin at martin@nysylc.org

2. To join us on the NYSYLC buses….Register  HERE

3. To participate in the NYSYLC Get Active Training…..Register HERE

Do you want to get involved in the Dream Act campaign but dont know how?

REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/njleadership

Contact Brenda at aguilarb@live.com if you have questions