DREAM ACT

DreamActivist.org: Call for Stories: Are You An Aged-Out Son/Daughter of a Legal Permanent Resident?

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:54:08 -0400

DreamActivist.org: Call for Stories: Are You An Aged-Out Son/Daughter of a Legal Permanent Resident?:

Here’s some good news: the Ninth Circuit has agreed to re-hear the Child Status Protection Act class action litigation, Cuellar de Osorio v. Holder. If they rule in favor of the petitioners, thousands of undocumented youth, immigrant youth with legal resident parents and young adults separated…

AB540

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:15:35 -0500

AB540

callmegago: This is legit, the most beautiful thing I have ever...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:11:38 -0500

callmegago:

This is legit, the most beautiful thing I have ever heard ever in the past hour

http://youtu.be/oeG9qUqJbn0

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:07:37 -0500

What is the Dream Act?!

http://youtu.be/oeG9qUqJbn0

Stories from DREAMers around America: My Story: Mari

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:05:04 -0500

Stories from DREAMers around America: My Story: Mari:

dreamerstories:

My parents brought me to the United States when I was 3 years old. I did not realize how different my life was going to be as opposed to my friends, who are all “legal” in this country, until I was 18.

It was horrible for me to realize that I was not going to a university because I did not…

vivalamujer: Republican debate yesterday! Dreamers did an...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:03:11 -0500

vivalamujer:

Republican debate yesterday! Dreamers did an amazing job!

Stories from DREAMers around America: My Story: Anon's

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:02:20 -0500

Stories from DREAMers around America: My Story: Anon's:

dreamerstories:

Everyone has a story and it seems like I have two – the real one and the superficial one. My story is lived by 2 million Americans – well, not so American. I am 24 years old and have been residing in the United States illegally since I was 8. This fact has shaped the way I have lived my life, but…

According to Whitehouse.gov...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:59:43 -0500

The DREAM Act will contribute to our military’s recruitment efforts and readiness. Secretary of Defense Gates has written to DREAM Act sponsors citing the rich precedent of non-citizens serving in the U.S. military and stating that “the DREAM Act represents an opportunity to expand [the recruiting] pool, to the advantage of military recruiting and readiness.”

ELIGIBLE FOR THE DREAM ACT?

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:56:32 -0500

Must have entered the United States before the age of 16 (i.e. 15 and younger)
Must have been present in the United States for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to enactment of the bill
Must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED, or have been accepted into an institution of higher education (i.e. college/university)
Must be between the ages of 16 and 35 at the time of application
Must have good moral character

Video

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:49:00 -0500

Video

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:42:29 -0500

Valedictorian's deportation order spurs student prote

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:33:11 -0500

Valedictorian's deportation order spurs student prote:

drunklikebiblicaltimes:

Students at North Miami Senior High are rallying for their classmate and valedictorian, Daniela Pelaez, 18, who was given an order for voluntary departure by a federal immigration judge. Students at North Miami High School are protesting a judge’s order for their valedictorian to leave the country.

Daniela Pelaez, 18, was given the order for voluntary departure by a federal immigration judge on Monday after her request for a green card was denied.

Pelaez came to the United States at age 4 with her family from Colombia on a tourist visa, which they overstayed. Her application for residency was denied in 2010.

“I consider myself an American, no matter what,” said Pelaez, who has applied to several Ivy League universities and hopes to become a heart surgeon. “I don’t agree with the judge.”

Her departure is not imminent, and her attorney is confident that an appeal will prevent her removal from the country. But her situation has mobilized her classmates, who plan to don red, white and blue Friday morning outside the school.

Her situation echoes the plight of Juan Gomez, a Killian High School grad who was picked up by immigration agents and threatened with deportation in 2007. Gomez and his brother Alex were spared deportation to Colombia.

But the climate has since changed. A new policy started under the Obama Administration last summer gives more leniency to immigration trial attorneys when it comes to undocumented immigrants like Gomez and Pelaez.

The policy lessened the focus on undocumented immigrants with no criminal record or who are caring for a sick child, who have been victims of domestic violence or crime, or who arrived in the country as children. Instead it turned the focus on the detention and deportation of dangerous foreign criminals and foreigners deemed threats to national security.

Those undocumented immigrants, like Pelaez, however, still must go through legal proceedings.

The ruling for voluntary departure only becomes final after 30 days, if an appeal is not filed, said her attorney, Jack Wallace. “If it’s filed within 30 days, she can’t be deported anywhere.” He plans to file the appeal next week, though he didn’t disclose on what grounds.

Wallace said he did not seek leniency under the new policy — called prosecutorial discretion — because he believes it’s best for those with no chance of winning approval to stay in the country. “Daniela has a good chance, if we win in court in Washington, to stay legally in the United States,” he said.

The deportation process can drag on for years, with all appeals from 59 immigration courts around the country going toWashington, D.C.

Pelaez’s family, who is originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, finds themselves on both sides of the immigration line. Her mother, Ana Gonzalez, returned to Colombia in 2006 to get successful treatment for colon cancer and now can’t return to the United States. Her older brother, Johan, is a U.S. citizen and serves in theU.S. Army, returning from a tour in Afghanistan last year. Her father, Antonio Pelaez, was able to receive residency through her brother. But Pelaez and her sister, Dayana, are struggling to find a way to stay in the country legally.

Meanwhile, Pelaez’s classmates and teachers have launched an aggressive online effort to gain support for her case — and keep her in the United States.

They have created a Facebook page and started an online petition, with more than 3,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon that they aim to send to theU.S. House of Representatives. They have made posters, banners and handed out fliers encouraging students to join Friday’s protest.

“We really are a family,” said Emily Sell, a 17-year-old senior. She and Pelaez attend the rigorous, college-prep International Baccalaureate program at North Miami Senior.

“I won’t allow that [deportation] to happen to her. For her to be deported means I’m losing one of my closest friends, our school is losing one of its brightest minds … That means a lot of loss that’s felt not only by me but all of her friends and family,” Emily said.

The news of the judge’s order was “devastating,” said Larry Jurrist, who leads the school’s IB program and teaches Pelaez in advanced Spanish. “It’s shocking to think that someone you’ve known for four years is suddenly going to be shipped off somewhere.”

When students started the online petition, Jurrist signed it and posted it on his Facebook page. “Not only did a tremendous amount of my friends and families sign it, they shared it, and it’s spread around tremendously, not just through me, but everyone else who’s doing the same thing,” Jurrist said.

For a decade, immigrants’ rights groups have pushed the DREAM Act, a federal proposal that would allow undocumented children to obtain permanent residency, either by enrolling in college or serving in the military. The bill has been criticized for promoting illegal immigration — and has never been signed into law.

According to estimates by the Urban Institute, 192,000 students in Florida would benefit from the DREAM Act. That means they came to the United States when they were younger than 16, have lived in the country for more than five years and have graduated from a Florida high school.

Last month in the Florida Legislature, efforts to let undocumented students pay in-state tuition were shot down. Under current state law, undocumented students must pay out-of-state tuition, which is nearly three times higher than the rates for Florida residents.

Juan Rodriguez, the youth coordinator with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said it’s important for students to reach out to their community.

“They need to create their network of trusted friends that they can share their story with or teachers they can trust,” he said. “We understand there’s a lot of fear. There’s more fear on the part of the parents … The majority of cases of students that have been stopped, it’s been people whose community has been aware of their story and do advocacy for them.”

Pelaez said she’s grateful for the rally at her school.

“I am annoyed and humiliated by all of this; I don’t feel I deserve this,” she said. “Criminals have more rights right now than I do — that’s humiliating. I’m a good person, I know I am.”

El Nuevo staff writer Alfonso Chardy contributed to this report.

dina334: deanslisters: #13A Better LifeDemian Bichir, Jose...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:29:36 -0500

dina334:

deanslisters:

#13
A Better Life
Demian Bichir, Jose Julian
Directed By: Chris Weitz
(Netflix)

“A Better Life” is a realistic view of what happens to illegal immigrants in the United States. These people are often secretive, defensive and protective. It’s almost as though they can never live freely. Their watchful of their steps as any officer of the law could easily ask them for their identification and eventually get them deported. Jobs are limited and physical work- those that don’t need documented support. For the kids who are born here, they get the to opportunity to enliven their dreams. For the parents who are supporting those kids, they run the risk of never seeing them again. The parents carry with them the weight of the world- a heavy realization that if caught, their worlds might never collide again.

This sadness, courage and constant fear is bravely carried by actor Demian Bichir as Carlos Galindo, a freelancing gardener caring and providing for his only son Luis (Jose Julian). He studies at a public school, often surrounded by gangs and bad influences. Carlos relies on side work. He sometimes drives trucks, clean gardens and do handy work. His job is never stable. Often times, he waits along with other unemployed civilians in alleys to get hired for under-the-table work.

The relationship he has with his son is flawed. Carlos continuously feels blamed for the departure of their mother. They don’t live in squalor but everyday is test of survival. In one instance, Carlos finds solace in his own gardening business. Unfortunately, another worker steals his faith in a new life. This drives Carlos and Luis to search for the truck. Their relationship is tested, and we witness a respectable, loving and unspoken bond between the two.

Bichir, nominated for his work in this movie, probably carries every weight of the movie. The plot has a simply storyline, but it’s the gravity of his work that glues you in. The turbulent mix of sadness and anger is always evident on his face. The last scene where he talks to his son about what’s about to happen to him is incredibly heart breaking. He manages to touch you without being too melodramatic.

Illegal immigration is a sensitive subject to tackle. Especially in California, where there is a high rate of these instances, one can easily be offended or feel slighted. Director Chris Weitz (About A Boy) handled this material well. He allowed the rawness of these individual’s emotions to tell a story. The father and son were able to portray hopeful but sometimes defeated characters. Moments in the film felt quiet and reserved and I admired that aspect. Sometimes, those moments spoke of the mind of these people- trying find peace and quiet in a world where they aren’t supposed to belong to.

**** (4 Stars)

Such a good movie. I give it 5 stars. Cried the whole second half. I recomend it to everyone. <3

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Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:29:16 -0500

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Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:28:36 -0500

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Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:28:27 -0500