L.A.'s "DREAM Team" Advocate For Undocumented Students
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(Photo by Jared Servantez)
Salgado and nearly 80 others who share his passion gathered Wednesday evening at the UCLA Labor Center for an open house event, and were treated to a special appearance from the undocumented immigrant and former Washington Post journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. The event, organized by a group known as DREAM Team Los Angeles, aimed to plan a course of action for the undocumented community in Los Angeles.
Vargas opened the meeting by addressing the crowd and urging them to continue to fight for immigration reform, especially the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, otherwise known as the DREAM Act.
“Illegal immigration is not just about undocumented people,” Vargas said. “It’s about our teachers, our coaches, our pastors. It’s about ordinary Americans who have stepped up where the government has failed.”
Vargas became a highly followed advocate for undocumented immigrants in June when he published an article in The New York Times Magazine describing his life as an illegal immigrant from the Philippines who eventually became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
“I feel as if all I’m really doing is telling the biggest story of my life,” Vargas said. “It just happens to be my story, and it just happens to be our collective story.”
Despite his national prominence, Vargas stressed that he was not a leader. He said that group participation and activism would ultimately be essential to realizing the hope of any meaningful immigration reform.
“You’re the inspiration,” he said to the crowd. “We’re living in a time in which we can tell our own stories, and that’s what we have to do. We have to tell them as fully, and as aggressively, and as loudly as we can.”
Carlos Amador – one of the leaders of DREAM Team Los Angeles (DTLA) – echoed this sentiment. Ultimately, he said, the power for affecting political change starts with the people speaking up and making their voices heard.
“We’re no longer going to stay in the shadows,” Amador said. “We’re going to speak, share our stories and change the movement.”
DTLA was active in campaigning for the passage of AB130, the first half of the California DREAM Act, which allows for undocumented college students in California’s public university system who are eligible for in-state tuition to receive privately funded scholarships. Gov. Jerry Brown signed this bill in July.
At the top of DTLA’s agenda is AB 131, the second half of the California DREAM Act, which would give undocumented students the right to the same state grants and financial aid awards for public higher education as
citizens and legal residents.
This bill has passed through the State Assembly and Senate, and is currently awaiting Gov. Brown’s signature.
A federal DREAM Act, which would give undocumented students a path to conditional legal status and eventual citizenship through school or military service, has not been passed.
Another priority for DTLA is speaking out against the deportation of undocumented students and graduates who haven’t participated in criminal activity. One man associated with DTLA, a college graduate named Matias, is currently facing deportation.
According to Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center, the Obama administration has already deported over 1 million people, more than President Bush ever did in a single term.
“It’s outrageous that we have to be working so hard to stop the deportation of so many of our students,” Wong said.
Salgado, who creates visually striking works of art that channel the voices of immigrants, agreed that deportation remains the greatest fear for the undocumented community.
“Our friend Matias is college educated, not a criminal at all,” Salgado said. “He’s been told to leave despite the contributions that he’s made. That scares us, because it shows just how much this administration is walking with a blind eye to our community.”
According to Salgado, that fear is exactly why the undocumented community needs to join together and continue to remain active in grassroots movements like DTLA.
“After all,” he said, “we all know what it’s like to be alone.”
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Comments
@Dan Honda - the reason our public education is lacking is because of plans and huge investments in programs that don't work (i.e. "No Child Left Behind").
An investment in the education of illegal immigrants is an investment in America's future, especially since they'll probably stay here for the rest of their lives. So many of the illegal immigrants graduating from high school have been here for over half their lives, and are just as American as anyone else here (think about what 'American' means... "White" is not the right answer.)
@Dave Francis - Your grammar and use of punctuation is terrible. You should change that if you want anyone to take you seriously. Half of the illegal immigrants that the DREAM Act would help probably have better grammar and punctuation than you. Why do you call people coming illegally into the U.S. an "invasion"? Illegally means they don't have proper documentation, it doesn't mean they're carrying death-lasers to try and kill people. The root of most problems that exist in the government lies in greed and the lack of an open mind. We Americans shouldn't think of ourselves as so special... we're ultimately WORLD citizens and because of our country's huge power, we should at least take more responsibility in our actions. The reason so many people from south of the U.S. border come here is because their countries suck, so maybe we should stop doing things like ship guns that the Mexican drug cartel will use and instead make small but significant investments in the betterment of those countries. I don't mean that all of our efforts should go toward other countries, because the U.S. has to be able to stand up on its own, but I believe it's an attitude we should carry when dealing with illegal immigration and our neighbor countries.
Dave Francis and everyone who shares anti-immigrant sentiments: you are the descendants of slaveowners, slavecatchers, lynchers, the white supremacy movement in the U.S.
I'm glad the fight for undocumented students and immigrants is gaining traction...you can't stop us. All that "nationalistic/patriotic" who-ra-ra isn't going to save you. NEWSFLASH*** This country will evolve, it will PROGRESS! I hope one day you are able to see the light, and that light will lead to understanding so that you can shed yourself of all that hate and social unease and finally see that these immigrants are people who contribute to society in more positive ways than some of our "American born" politicians/business people do.
DON'T LISTEN TO THE HATE, F- EM. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS STAND STRONG! WIPE THE TEARS AND KEEP YA HEAD UP! WE SHALL OVERCOME! DON'T LET ANYBODY TAKE YOUR WORTH! UNDOCUMENTED AND UNAFRAID!
LAST CHANCE TO HALT THE ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS.
This diminutive assembly of the TEA PARTY NATION members, in no-way represents the millions of individual groups across the country. Michelle Bachmann, chairperson and coordinator for these small organized groups, comprises of 50 to 100 average Americans, wanting our immigration laws strictly enforced according to the original 1986 “Immigration Control and Reform Act”, also celebrated as the Simpson/Mazzoli bill. The TEA PARTY masses of Constitutional Conservatives are by far in greater number, than anybody can imagine and spreading rapidly to every community every day. Millions of Americans insist on a small federal government, a new tax code, and the return of agencies like the copious Dept of Education, The Environmental Protection Agency returned to state control. The Democrats, the main body of the Republicans and lesser political parties are using rhetoric and propaganda, to try and derail the most powerful deterrent since 1986, to eradicate the illegal immigrant occupation. This is not anti-Hispanic, Anti- European, Anti-African , Anti-Asian law, but is strictly Anti-illegal immigrant.
THE TEA PARTY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAY—NO TO ANY FORM OF AMNESTY, DISGUISED AS IMMIGRATION REFORM. NO DREAM ACTS, NO SANCTUARY CITIES—NO TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
Only Democrats who expect to collect thousands of extra voters in 2012--illegal or legal--so there must be official oversight of the renamed ACORN groups, who used fraudulent registrations in the last midterm election. ACORN will in a reorganized organization try to alter the course of the—“Citizens only”—vote. The GOP hierarchy sees only dollar figures for their business campaign contributors, with giant profits using discount labor and undermining the 24 million American workers, which remain jobless. Only two Presidential candidates of Bachmann and Cain are strong in their resolve, to stop this invasion from abroad and across the limited miles of the border fence. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney has no sense of the future consequences of unfettered illegal incursions into this sovereign land. Perry has by far the worst immigration record of all, for a border Governor offering taxpayer tuition as a Texas dream Act. Perry sees no wrong with offering another population suffocating Amnesty. E-Verify has the capability to send the millions of illegal aliens packing--when unable to be hired. Huntsman has also bombed out on his seemingly approval of illegal alien growing problem.
Those Americans and residents that are flagged can resolve irregularities by going to a Social Security office, which the Liberal press keeps silent about. U.S. citizens, naturalized or permanent residents should not be deceived by ruling parties, open border entities or radical ethnic groups, as they see mandated E-Verify crushing their agenda’s. Don’t listen to the activist Liberal press, deceiving the population that the TEA PARTY is falling apart. Learn the facts of the revised E-Verify, that is propagating in status amongst honest business concerns.
You just have to look who is aligned with this massive 20 million plus illegal alien occupation? The Communist founded ACLU; Causa, (Oregon’s Immigrants Rights Coalition); The Southwest Farm press, these are mega-Agricultural Industry along with Farmers; (Farmers and these Multi-Nationals pay nothing towards the alien worker or his families Health treatments or the children’s kindergarten to K-12 education. The IRS pilfers your payroll check for this.
DO—NOT—HESITATE!
Please call your Rep. If he/she is a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and urge clean passage of the “Legal Workforce Act” identified as Verify bill H.R.2885. The Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. More answers can be found at NumbersUSA, American Patrol and Judicial Watch. Join a TEA PARTY near you and change America’s future.
Can't wait for the governor to make his decision. Will he be bold or go the Obama route?
"Immigration Reform" in this article means, "Give ILLEGAL ALIENS more free money and aid while US Citizens and Illegal Immigrants become second and third class citizens, while our bankrupt State is laying off employees, closing parks, defunding social services for our sick, aged, and disabled, while our infrastructure is crumbling, while our public education system is lacking. And while Legal Students, cannot pay increased tuition and fees, do not have access to these same amenities, and lose their placement in higher education."