VICTORY: Marlen Will Stay with Two Young Kids and Husband in Arizona, DREAM Act Fight Continues

America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/06/10 at 10:19am

Earlier this week we brought you the story of Marlen Moreno, the Arizona mother and aspiring preschool teacher who would be eligible to earn citizenship under the DREAM Act. On Saturday, she was scheduled to be ripped away from her family and the country she calls home, which she was brought to as a young girl.

Here’s the great news: Marlen was just granted what’s known as “deferred action” for one year. She was scheduled to be deported on August 8th, but after a campaign initiated by DREAM Act activists, Marlen was allowed to stay with her family for another year.

We asked you to fax DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, and you came through. In just 24 hours, we passed our goal of having 5,000 people fax DHS. As of today, you’ve sent close to 20,000 faxes to the agency!

Thank you.

Your voices made a major difference for Marlen and her family.

Several prominent elected officials also advocated on Marlen's behalf, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)), and Congressmen Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Howard Berman (D-CA). These leaders are also working to pass the DREAM Act this year, as a first step toward full immigration reform.

According to a DREAMActivist press statement:

“We all truly appreciate this decision by ICE. I congratulate Janet Napolitano for making the right decision to keep this young family together. This is wonderful news for Marlen and her family and it demonstrates a further need for ICE to stop the removal of all DREAM Act eligible individuals,” stated Mo Goldman, one of Marlen Moreno’s attorneys.

Marlen responds:

Marlen, with her two sons in hand, said: “I appreciate each and every person who helped me and offered their support, everybody who put their dedication and effort to make this possible. I wish that this were also possible for others who find themselves in a situation similar to mine. I hope to be able to help and involve myself with everybody and all the to fight for the DREAM Act.”

The statement continues by stressing the ongoing fight for the DREAM Act, federal legislation that would allow thousands of others in Marlen's situation to earn their citizenship through two years of college or military service:

Like the 65,000 undocumented youth who graduate each year from highschool, Marlen, would qualify for the DREAM Act, a narrowly tailored piece of federal legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate (S.729). The bill would allow for undocumented youth to fix their legal status upon completion of two years of military service or two years of college. The DREAM Act currently has 40 co-sponsors in the senate and 126 in the house. Organizers urge continued action on the DREAM Act.

"We must keep in mind that Marlen has been granted deferred action for only one year. Passage of the DREAM Act would give her the best chance of staying with her family and pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher," stated Dulce Matuz of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.

Earlier this week, Senator Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor to express the urgency of passing the DREAM Act without further delay-- here's an excerpt from his speech:

Mr. President, I rise to speak about S. 729, known as the DREAM Act. This is bipartisan legislation that I have introduced with Republican Senator DICK LUGAR of Indiana. [...]

The DREAM Act would give a select group of immigrant students the chance to earn legal status if they grew up in the United States, have good moral character, and attend college or enlist in the military of our country. [...] The DREAM Act has broad, bipartisan support. The last time the Senate considered the DREAM Act, it received 52 votes, including 11 Republicans, but we needed 60 votes under the Senate rules. It is clear, though, that a bipartisan majority in the Senate supports the DREAM Act.

Since then, support for the DREAM Act has only grown, and the bill now has 40 cosponsors. [...]

The DREAM Act is also supported by a broad coalition of education, labor, business, civil rights, and religious leaders, including the AFL-CIO, the American Jewish Committee, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National PTA, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It also has the support of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, such as Microsoft and Pfizer, and dozens of colleges and universities.

The DREAM Act also has broad support from the American people. According to a recent poll by Opinion Research Corporation, 70 percent of likely voters favored the DREAM Act, including 60 percent of the likely Republican voters.

With Marlen now safe at home with her family, it's time to re-double our efforts to pass the DREAM Act, now.