DREAM Act Organizational Sign-On Letter
Please send your organizational sign-ons to melissal@firstfocus.net
Dear DREAM Act allies,
As we reported earlier, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) pledged in September that the DREAM Act will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote sometime before November 16th. A VOTE IS EXPECTED IN THE SENATE VERY SOON, EVEN AS EARLY AS NEXT WEEK.
We are circulating this organizational sign-on letter prepared by our friends from First Focus to demonstrate that there is strong support for enacting the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, at this time only national organizations can sign on to this letter but we encourage state and local organizations to write individual letters of support. Please contact Melissa Lazarin, Director of Education Policy, First Focus at melissal@firstfocus.net to sign your national organization to this important letter. THE DEADLINE FOR SIGN-ONS IS THIS MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, COB.
The content of the letter is also pasted below for your perusal. We are also including some useful materials to assist your advocacy efforts, including a summary of the DREAM ACT and responses to common myths about this proposal.
Thanks everyone for your hard work and please keep the phone calls and letters pouring in! We need to urge all Senators to pass the DREAM Act now!
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October XX, 2007
Dear Senator,
Representing a broad spectrum of national organizations, including education, civil rights, immigrant rights, children’s advocacy, faith-based, and labor groups, we urge you to support the debate and passage of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.”
The Senate has a tremendous opportunity to pass a modest and common-sense approach to addressing the tragic circumstances that 65,000 U.S.-raised immigrant students face each year upon graduating from high school. The “DREAM Act” is legislation we have long supported that would allow individuals brought to the U.S. as children more than five years ago to earn a path to legal status starting after high school graduation. To qualify for a green card they would have to demonstrate good moral character and graduate from community college, attend two years towards a four-year degree, or serve at least two years in the U.S. military.
The “DREAM Act” is unique in that the young people who would benefit from its passage had no say in the decision to come to this country, and current law provides no mechanism for them to adjust to legal status. Nonetheless, these individuals have grown up in this country as Americans. They include high school valedictorians, honors students, class presidents, and student athletes. They also include future teachers, nurses, engineers, and community leaders.
The DREAM Act eligible students who graduated from high school in 2001—when the “DREAM Act” was first proposed in Congress—are now in their mid-20’s. Another 65,000 DREAM eligible students will graduate this Spring. Passage of the “DREAM Act” is needed this year.
The fundamental question posed by the “DREAM Act” is whether our country is on the right path by allowing these home-grown talented individuals to remain here illegally and uneducated, or legally, educated, and free to fully contribute to our common future. We urge you to consider the unique circumstances of these individuals, prioritize the future of this nation, and support the “DREAM Act.”
Respectfully,
To subscribe to the DREAM listserv, please email Katherine Vargas at vargas@nilc-dc.org with “subscribe to DREAM listserv” in the subject line and include your contact information in the text of the email.
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