America's Voice Blog

Posted 09/02/10 at 09:52am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Saad Nabeel

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Saad Nabeel and I am writing to you from Bangladesh. Prior to my arrival in this nation, I lived in the United States for 15 years. My parents brought me to America at age three. It is the only home I know. I used to attend the University of Texas at Arlington with a full scholarship in Electrical Engineering. Through no fault of my own I was forced to leave my home, friends, possessions, and most importantly, my education behind.

November 3rd 2009 is a day I will never forget. My mother called me and told me that my father had been detained by ICE and that we needed to leave immediately to Canada to seek refugee status. Being an only child, I had to take care of my mother and go with her.

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Posted 08/30/10 at 09:22am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Lizbeth Mateo

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Lizbeth Mateo and I am undocumented. On May 17th, on the 56th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, I, along with Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo and two others, became the first undocumented students to risk deportation by staging a sit-in inside Senator McCain’s office in Tucson, Arizona, to demand the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. As a result of that sit-in we were arrested, turned over to ICE, and we now face deportation.

I came to this country when I was fourteen-years-old from Oaxaca, Mexico.  It was the late nineties and Mexico was, and is still, facing one of the worst socio-economic and political periods in recent history. For my parents - a taxi driver and a stay-at-home-mom that were struggling to make ends meet-  it was clear that they would have to choose between seeing their children starve and get sick, or risk it all, leave everything behind and relocate the family to Southern California with hopes of a better future. In 1998 we moved to Los Angeles and have lived here, since. 

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Posted 08/26/10 at 02:06pm By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Myrna Orozco

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

On July 20th, 2010 I was arrested in the office of Senator John McCain fighting for the DREAM Act.

I am one of the thousands of students who would qualify for this legislation. I was brought to the United States at the age of four and have been here ever since. I consider myself to be a good student and I always strive to be a good example for others. I have been waiting for the DREAM Act to pass since it was first introduced in 2001, and this year I decided that I couldn't stand by and wait another year. I decided to fight for my DREAMs.

I can no longer watch as politicians gamble with my future and the futures of my friends, family, and even strangers who are in the same position as I am. This is why I, along with 20 other DREAMers decided to take action and fight for what we believe is right; thus, we decided to conduct sit-ins at various senators offices and urge them to take action on the DREAM Act. We can not stand by as another class of outstanding students graduate without being able to fulfill their DREAMs.

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Posted 08/24/10 at 12:25pm By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Carlos A Roa, Jr.

 

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Carlos and I'm a 23 year old undocumented immigrant from Caracas, Venezuela.  I want to legalize my immigration status in this country through the passage of DREAM Act this year.  For too long have I lived in the U.S. without papers.  It has been over 20 years, now.  I want to legalize my immigration status in order to fulfill my dreams of becoming a young professional in architecture.

There are obstacles in my daily life that make it extraordinarily difficult to pursue a career in architecture.  Fortunately, because of my determination to continue my studies after graduating high school in 2005, I'm currently a student in Miami Dade College.  It has not been without great difficulty.  For many years it felt as if all the potential I developed in high school was for nothing.

I am the perfect example of other students in similar situations whose voices have been silenced by the fact that we are not truly accounted for.  We are afraid of speaking up because doing so might affect our immigration status in this country and possibly even lead to deportation.  I myself felt this way for several years, but after dealing with my status for so long, I now consider it a duty to speak up for myself and for other youth in my shoes.

I remember that dark and cold feeling of shame, fear and hopelessness.

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Posted 08/18/10 at 10:33am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Selvin Arevalo

Editor’s Note: Today, syndicated columnist Ruben Navarette argues rather pointedly for an end to any politicking that might hold up the DREAM Act:

And there’s the best argument for passing the DREAM Act --  so that deserving young people get the chance to realize their full potential. With so much of politics driven by the self-interest of politicians, we’re fresh out of leaders in this country. So we had better start growing a new crop.

---Jackie

[Note from Kyle de Beausset: Selvin wrote this letter right before he got into a minor car accident on April 9, 2010. He was set to get his high school diploma in June but has been in detention ever since. I have chosen reproduce Selvin's letter as I found it in his empty room, rather than polish his slight grammatical errors, to allow his character to shine through.]

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear President Barack Obama,

From the bottom of my heart, I plead to my God that you and your entire family receive blessings from the highest God while you are reading this letter.  I admire and thank you for the great labor that you are fulfilling as a president in this big nation.  My name is Selvin Ovidio Arevalo.  I came to this country when I was 15 years old.  I came from Guatemala to this country to fulfill my dreams because I always have believed that this is a country of many opportunities for those whom want to succeed.

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Posted 08/16/10 at 03:49pm By Jackie Mahendra

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Yves Gomes

Editor's Note: This afternoon, Janet Murguía, President one of the nation’s top Latino advocacy groups, NCLR, chimed in on the DREAM Act in the Huffington Post:

The rationale for the “DREAM Act” is clear and compelling. Congress needs to put its weight behind this proposal for what it is: a measure geared toward young people to promote future economic prosperity. Those who have not yet co-sponsored this legislation should explain why they are standing in the way of progress. And when it comes to immigration, they should keep in mind that Latino voters will take stock of who is just trying to score points with political ads and who is actually delivering the comprehensive solutions our country needs.

---Jackie

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear President Obama:

My name is Yves Gomes. I am 17 years old and I just graduated from Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, MD this June. Under the grace of God I was able to do well in my studies all my life and I graduated in the top 5% of my class and got into University of Maryland College Park and a handful of other colleges. However until today I had an order for deportation from this country on August 13, 2010, a few days from now.  I spent the last year restlessly awaiting my unknown future. But today, thanks to the work of my lawyer, Mrs. Cynthia Groomes Katz, the help of the media (e.g. Ms. Andrea McCarren of WUSA9 TV) Organizations such as the We Are America project of the Center for Community Change and my family and friends, I was able to get Deferred Action after subsequent to Stays of Removal, and now I am ecstatic because I can stay in the United States.

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Posted 08/11/10 at 10:15am By Jackie Mahendra

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Stop Ivan Nikolov’s Deportation

Editor’s Note: One of the nation’s most influential Spanish language publications, La Opinión (Los Angeles), published an editorial this week called, “The DREAM Act can’t wait” (“DREAM Act no puede esperar,”) calling on Congress to pass the DREAM Act without further delay. This is especially timely, given news today that the Spanish language media is growing disenchanted with President Obama and that Latino voters now rank immigration as their top issue heading into the November elections.

Finally, send a fax now to stop today’s DREAMer, Ivan, from being deported to Russia. We made a huge difference for Marlen, now it’s Ivan’s turn.

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

In May, my mother and I were picked up in an immigration raid in our home. I was told that in 2002, when I was just 12, I missed a court date at which I was ordered removed from this country. I've been in detention for three months, now, awaiting my deportation.  My mother was deported on Friday, August 6th, and I'm set to be deported any day now.

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Posted 08/09/10 at 09:23am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters: David Cho

Originally posted on Citizen Orange.

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is David Cho and I’m undocumented.

I will be a senior studying International Economics and Korean at UCLA this upcoming Fall. While most of my friends will enter the workplace after graduation, I will not be able to even put my name down on a job application because of my status. I’m a hardworking student with a 3.6 GPA and I am the first Korean and actually the first undocumented student to ever become the conductor, the drum major of the UCLA Marching Band in UCLA history.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/06/10 at 10:51am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Recap: The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party

Originally posted on Citizen Orange.

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

A lot has happened as we complete the third week of the DREAM Now Series.  The DREAM Act picked up two new co-sponsors in the U.S. House: Mike Thompson (D-CA-1) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1).  Two extremely important and influential organizations have also come out strongly in support of passing the DREAM Act as a downpayment on comprehensive immigration reform: the Center for American Progress and the AFL-CIO.  Finally, a major victory was won in Arizona where the deportation of Marlen Moreno was deferred.  Please express support for the above in anyway possible.  It has all helped build a lot of momentum for passing the DREAM Act, this year. 

Just was we have been busy moving the DREAM Act forward, though, nativists have been busy undermining it.

Last week, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and the nativist organization NumbersUSA were behind a political effort to release an inflammatory memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The memo was released with the suggestion that Obama was preparing a stealth amnesty without the aid of Congress.  An explicit target of this memo was most certainly possible beneficiaries of the DREAM Act, whom advocates and even U.S. Senators have been passionately arguing should receive some sort of administrative relief from Obama.

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Posted 08/04/10 at 10:20am By Jackie Mahendra

DREAM Now Letters: Marlen Moreno

Editor's note: Marlen faces deportation this Saturday, and DREAM activists around the country are asking people to call DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ask her to stop Marlen's deportation. If you wish to join them after reading Marlen's story, call 202.282.8495 and say:

"I am calling to leave a message of support for Marlen Moreno, who is being deported on August 8th. I ask that Secretary Napolitano please step in to defer her deportation, as she is an asset to this country.  Thank you."

DREAM Now Letters: Marlen Moreno



The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Marlen Moreno and I am undocumented. I am also a possible beneficiary of the DREAM Act.  On Sunday, August 8, I will be deported.

I was born in Nacozari, Mexico in 1984. My parents brought me to the United States when I was only 13 years old. We were searching for a better life and we found it in Tucson, Arizona. Despite being born in Mexico, I don’t consider myself Mexican. I have been living in this country for over thirteen years. The United States is my country and Arizona is my home.

My parents have always told me to value education. I remember them telling me that they came to the United States, “the country of opportunity,” so I could live a better life than they did. I never took their sacrifice for granted. In 2002, I became the first and only member of my family to graduate from high school. I was proud of my achievements but scared that I could not go any further. Because of my status, I was not able to continue with my education. My goal is to become a pre-school teacher, because I believe education is the key to success. I want to help children achieve their full potential from a young age, so they can continue to excel in every aspect of their lives.

Despite my goals of higher education, I was forced to put them aside and work as an assistant cleaning houses and a maid in a hotel. This was not what I wanted to do with my life, but I was thankful for any job I was able to get. For four years, I worked hard to support myself and help my family financially knowing that someday I would be able to live out the American Dream.

In 2007, my first son was born, Freddy Alan. Thanks to him, I came to know what it means to be a mother. I never knew I could be this happy or love someone as much as I love him. I went back to work soon after his birth because I wanted to provide him with everything he deserved.

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