08/21/12 “Where are you from?” This is a question that has become increasingly difficult to answer as I get older. Growing up in Miami, I was “la peruana” or “la peruanita” — labels that delineated and affirmed my Peruvian identity. Although I did not know too many Peruvians (I was surrounded by many when compared to [...]
Read More »

08/20/12 Right after I heard the Obama Administration’s deferred action guidelines, I went to the FAQ section on the USCIS website and searched for the word “travel.” As happy as I am about the fact that I will now be able to work and contribute to this country, I was most looking forward to learning about [...]
Read More »

08/07/12 Today was the launch of United We DREAM’s (UWD) national “We Own the DREAM/¡Unete Al Sueño!” campaign. UWD, along with national allies, held a press conference at the American Immigration Lawyers Association to discuss the new guidelines for deferred action and to assist eligible aspiring citizens with the application process. The campaign will join the resources [...]
Read More »

07/30/12 “No papers, no fear.” That is the slogan that is driving (so to speak) a group of undocumented immigrants and allies of different ages from Arizona to cities where there is heated anti-immigrant sentiment. The group is calling out the injustices toward immigrants that have been taking place throughout the country, especially in states where there [...]
Read More »

07/18/12 Recently, I wrote about the psychological effects of being undocumented. Now, I wanted to know what other DREAMers were doing to create spaces where undocumented and undocuqueer folk could talk about their experiences. I was led to Imelda Plascencia, who, with the help of the DREAM Resource Center, created a counseling group for DREAMers called [...]
Read More »

07/18/12 DREAMers, without a doubt, have transformed the immigrant movement in the U.S. The announcement that they will soon be able to obtain work permits will not only have implications in their own struggle for legalization but also in their role as leaders in the fight for the legalization of their parents and the rest of [...]
Read More »

07/05/11 Alberto Yanez is a hard-working student, a committed young father, and an ambitious DREAMer. He came to the United States from Mexico in 1988 when he was just a year old. Raised in California, Yanez moved to Washington with his family after his junior year in high school. He has been living there ever since.
Read More »

06/20/11 On Wednesday, a flight is leaving for India and President Obama's immigration officials want Mandeep -- a DREAM Act student -- on it, despite the fact that she was once voted as "Most Likely to Save the World" by her peers at Los Altos High School in Mountain View.
Read More »

05/20/11 We dedicate this post to the many DREAMers who are graduating from high school and college this spring. To those students: keep hope alive, and continue to inspire us all with your hard work and dedication to your dreams.
Read More »

05/19/11 "Officially a Doctor of Law! This J.D. degree is for the DREAM movement. Victory will be ours!" César Vargas wrote on his Facebook wall this past weekend after receiving his law degree. Graduation ceremonies are held all throughout the country and among these students, who through immense effort are graduating from college, are hundreds of thousands like César, undocumented students with enormous potential to offer to this country.
Read More »

05/11/11 We want actions, not words. For nearly two decades I've called the United States of America my home. I emigrated from Ecuador with my family, grew up in Miami and attended public schools, where I was a high-achieving student who eventually made it to college. I am also an undocumented immigrant.
Read More »

05/11/11 Today, DREAMer Tolu Olubunmi, would-be chemical engineer (if only she was allowed to practice her profession), spoke at a press conference reintroducing the DREAM Act with Senators Durbin (D-IL), Reid (D-NV) and Menendez (D-NJ), and was introduced by Durbin as someone whose "misfortune has been our good fortune" as someone, despite her undocumented status, often volunteers full-time to better the lives of thousands of others.
Read More »

04/21/11 Prerna Lal is a J.D. Candidate at GW Law School, a writer at Change.org, and a Board Member at Immigration Equality. She's also a DREAMer.
Read More »

04/06/11 This week we received some good news from our friends in Tennessee. The thousands of faxes we all sent to ICE, on Manolo's behalf, made a huge difference. Just hours before he would have deported, officials decided to reopen his case. Manolo recorded this video to say thanks to everyone who took action to stop his deportation.
Read More »

03/18/11 Since Christmas, Mario Aregullin has been sitting in a Georgia detention center. Though he's been in the United States since he was a baby, he was forced to spend Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day away from his family, friends, and his bride-to-be, Brandi.
Read More »

03/14/11 Another day, another fight in the absence of a coherent federal immigration policy. This weekend, America's Voice learned the story of Mariano Cardoso Jr. of New Britain, Connecticut, a 22-year-old DREAMer who is stepping away from a life in the shadows to very publicly fight against his imminent deportation.
Read More »

01/14/11 Pedro was desperately counting on the DREAM Act to pass. He's an orphan who grew up in Arizona and has no family or friends in Mexico. His grandmother brought him to the US at the age of 7, but passed away when he was still a child.
Read More »

11/22/10 Cesar Vargas was brought by his parents to the United States from Mexico when he was 5 years old. He grew up in New York, graduated from high school, completed college, and is in his final year of law school. Now, he has one thing holding him back from his dream of joining the military: the fact that he's undocumented.
Read More »

09/20/10 When Nelly was nine years old, she came to the United States with her parents. Scared and unable to speak the language, she was aware of one thing: that her parents came here to provide her with a better life, and that she would do all that she could to succeed. So she learned English, excelled at school, graduated at the top of her class with a 4.0 GPA, was elected class president, and even served as Cadet Commander of her high school's ROTC program – all while holding a job to support her family.
Read More »

09/13/10 I am a member of the first graduating class of Felix Varela Senior High which is located in Miami, Florida. I had attended school with my native-born friends. Like them, I participated in activities, field trips, dances, and felt the pain of losing a classmate. It was around 10th grade that I realized my future after high school would not be the same as those of my peers even though I worked just as hard to obtain excellent grades
Read More »

08/09/10 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.
Read More »

07/21/10 The DREAM Now letters to follow each week, from undocumented young people who feel they must tell their stories, will be used to call attention to the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act without further delay. Please get involved by posting the letters on your blog, your facebook or twitter profiles, or wherever you can. Together we can make the DREAM Act a reality for the million or more young people whose lives are now on hold, waiting for this critical legislation -- a stepping stone to full immigration reform that 70% of Americans support.
Read More »