05/24/13 Now that the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the Gang of 8 immigration bill out of markup, it is now in Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)’s hands, and Reid has said that he will bring the bill to a vote in June. And, Reid recently promised, “I will do everything in my power to help [...]
Read More »

05/23/13 Update: And then there’s this, from Steve King. Wow–referring to young immigrants who want to participate in their political process as “illegal aliens” to keep out. Keeping it classy, Rep. King: #Immigration: Illegal aliens in House Judiciary Committee room during hearing today. How can we secure border if we can’t secure our room? — Steve [...]
Read More »

05/21/13 A cross-post by DREAMer Eric Balderas, initially posted at the Hill: I have much in common with my home state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Like Cruz, I was not born in the U.S. Like Cruz, I moved to Texas at the age of 4 and grew up pledging allegiance to the American flag. Like [...]
Read More »

05/20/13 If you think the Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of the Gang of 8 bill has been intense so far, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. As the SJC moves into Titles II and III of the bill—which cover everything from E-Verify to detention policy to family immigration to agricultural workers, not to mention the path to [...]
Read More »

02/15/13 Last week a member of Congress — Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) —  harassed, screamed at, and threatened an 18-year-old DREAMer who was visiting him with her faith-based community group. Jessica Bravo just wanted to talk to her representative like any other constituent. But when she mentioned her undocumented status, Rohrabacher let loose — yelling about [...]
Read More »

02/12/13 When President Obama gives his fifth State of the Union speech tonight, at least four DREAMers will be in the audience—Alan Aleman, Julieta Garibay, Gabino Sanchez, and Ambar Pinto.  Their presence will be a testament to how far the immigrant rights movement has come in recent years—as will the testimony of Jose Antonio Vargas at [...]
Read More »

02/06/13 Here’s the press release from UWD: Today, on a telephonic press conference, immigrant youth leaders with United We Dream released 20 specific policy principles for immigration reform, laying out a common-sense agenda for change and demanding a path to citizenship in less than 7 years without any unreasonable or unfair requirements.  As the immigration reform debate kicks into high [...]
Read More »

02/05/13 DREAMers protesting today’s immigration hearing: (Watch C-SPAN video of the hearing itself here.)   Up with Chris Hayes: immigration panel last week with Lorella Praeli of United We DREAM: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Stephen Colbert on immigration reform (transcript here): The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report [...]
Read More »

01/23/13 Laurene Powell, the widow of Apple’s Steve Jobs and a longtime supporter of the DREAM Act, launched a new website this week that calls on Congress to pass immigration reform for young aspiring Americans.  Called thedreamisnow.org, the site features videos of DREAMers discussing how their lives would be better with the DREAM Act.  The website was [...]
Read More »

01/22/13 Since the 2012 election, the Latino vote and how their influence dominated the ballot box has become a national headline, which is why PARADE Magazine has just announced that throughout 2013, they’ll be exploring the various and diverse ways Latinos are reshaping America.  After all, as Parade put it: When Barack Obama [took] the oath of office [...]
Read More »

01/22/13 Last week, we learned that since President Obama announced the deferred action (DACA) program last June, 154,404  eligible DREAMers have made it through the process and been approved. Via Univision: To date, 154,404 young undocumented immigrants have been approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama administration program active since August. The program gives [...]
Read More »

01/14/13 Cross-posted at MomsRising: Immigration reform will be a top legislative priority this year, and it won’t be some vague policy or philosophical change that we’re asking for.  The coming battle to change our immigration policy is personal, and we fight it every day to protect our mothers, fathers, children, and family members. Last week was [...]
Read More »

01/11/13 Late last night, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the home of Arizona DREAM leader Erika Andiola and detained her mother, Maria Arreola, and her brother, Heriberto Andiola Arreola.  After immediate mobilization by the family’s supporters, and DREAMers and supporters from across the country, Heriberto and Maria were released from detention today.  But the family [...]
Read More »

12/27/12 Next year is going to be huge for  immigration reform—and you still have a chance to donate to the DREAMers who helped make the coming fight possible. You still have a few days left to help DREAMers pay for college, get an internship, and gain leadership training. 100% of your tax-deductible contribution goes directly to [...]
Read More »

12/21/12 Because I’m undocumented, my options for scholarships and work experience have always been limited. But last year, I was selected to participate in a unique program called Dream Summer, which provided me with a summer internship at one of the top national social justice organizations, leadership training and a $5,000 college scholarship. The scholarship helped [...]
Read More »

12/20/12 Ruben Navarrette is a syndicated columnist for CNN, a conservative, and a self-proclaimed supporter of immigration reform. With such a platform and agenda, we would hope and expect him to use his column to promote citizenship for the undocumented in our country or to push his GOP friends to come around on immigration reform. But, no, [...]
Read More »

12/19/12 Last week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the latest numbers on President Obama’s deferred action for DREAMers (DACA) program.  The program, which began in mid-August, is entering its fifth month.  Of the nearly 1.4 million young aspiring Americans eligible to apply, 367,903 have sent in applications, 102,965 have been approved, and 157,151 currently [...]
Read More »

12/19/12 TIME Magazine editors named Barack Obama their “Person of the Year” today–but in the magazine’s recent Readers’ Choice poll for the same award, the President came in at 18th.  ”Undocumented Immigrants“ finished with a strong third, while The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart took second, and first place went to North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un (after meddling from 4chan.) Undocumented [...]
Read More »

12/17/12 DREAMers led our movement in winning our biggest victory in 25 years—protecting over a million young people from deportation with the deferred action policy!  In this holiday season, America’s Voice Education Fund wants to say thank you to these inspiring leaders. Will you contribute $5 to thank a DREAMer by helping her go to college and [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 If our latest video doesn’t have you amped up enough about next year, check out this short (but fabulous) interview that United We Dream’s Cristina Jimenez did on Al Punto last Sunday, in which she explains to Jorge Ramos how and why UWD has resolved to push for citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 You have to love a press release that includes a line like this: UC Berkeley is leading the nation in assisting its students who are undocumented. It’s especially great to read when it’s true. There’s a lot happening at the University of California-Berkeley — including $1,000,000 gift for DREAMers scholarships, thanks to the Evelyn and Walter [...]
Read More »

12/10/12 Cross-posted at “A MomsRising Blog Carnival on Protecting Family Unity, Strengthening Communities and Ensuring a Thriving Economy with the Contributions of Immigrants“: After Republicans reached an historic low among Latino voters in last month’s election, political analysts of all stripes began to say that the GOP should change its immigration plank and work with Democrats to enact reasonable and [...]
Read More »

12/04/12 In the burgeoning legislative debate over immigration reform, leaders of the DREAMer movement of young aspiring Americans drew an important line in the sand this weekend.  At a conference convened by United We Dream, one of the leading organizations created of, by, and for DREAMers, the organization’s members made it clear that they are fighting not [...]
Read More »

12/03/12 Following the success of the DREAMer conference in Kansas City this weekend—the biggest gathering of DREAMers to date—United We DREAM unveiled their new platform for change this morning, their statement of principles describing the type of immigration reform they have vowed to pursue next year. “We’re building a movement for change,” said Cristina Jimenez, Managing [...]
Read More »

12/01/12 It’s been an amazing year for DREAMers, who won protection from deportation this year when President Obama announced his deferred action (DACA) program, and became a national political story when they helped to mobilize record numbers of the Latino vote in last month’s elections.  Today–as DREAMers from all over the nation are gathering in Kansas [...]
Read More »

11/30/12 Could some in the non-extremist wing of the GOP be slowly starting to “get it” on immigration?  Yesterday, the Huffington Post reported that the state of Nevada—led by Republican Governor Brian Sandoval—is the latest to confirm that it will allow DREAMers recognized by President Obama’s deferred action (DACA) program to apply for driver’s licenses.  From the Elise Foley: Receiving [...]
Read More »

11/29/12 Two days ago, retiring GOP Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) and Jon Kyl (AZ) held a press conference to announce their new Achieve Act, a watered-down version of the DREAM Act which would confer legal status but no guarantee of citizenship.  When reporters asked Sen. Kyl to address that flaw, he waved it off as [...]
Read More »