This New York Times article provides more information about the historic conference held in Kansas City, Missouri over this past weekend. The 600 DREAMers at that conference, which included a delegation from the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition (NJDAC), decided to expand past previous call for the passage of the DREAM Act and instead to push for broader Comprehensive Immigration Reform that would include a path to citizenship for themselves and their families.
[Read the full article below]
Young Immigrant Activists Cast a Wider Net
Delegates on Saturday reflected in silence during the United We Dream congress for young immigrants in Kansas City, Mo.
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: December 2, 2012
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a boisterous three-day congress here, more than
600 leaders of a national movement of young immigrants living in the
country without legal papers voted to expand beyond their past demands
for citizenship for young people, and to mobilize in support of a bill
to legalize 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
The leaders of the United We Dream network, the largest organization of youths here illegally, decided to push
President Obama
and Congress next year for legislation to open a path to citizenship
for them and their families. The move will increase pressure on Mr.
Obama and lawmakers to pass a comprehensive overhaul, rather than taking
on the debate over
immigration in smaller pieces to try to gain more support among Republicans.
The network’s platform calling for an “inclusive pathway to
citizenship,” which the leaders adopted unanimously in a vote on Sunday
morning, is likely to have a large influence on the debate Mr. Obama
said he planned to kick off soon after his inauguration in January. The
young people, who call themselves Dreamers, generally attract more
sympathy from American voters than other immigrants here illegally,
because most were brought to the country as children and many became
activists after their illegal status thwarted their plans for college.
They take their name from the Dream Act, a bill that would create a
pathway to citizenship for young people, which lawmakers on both sides
of the aisle view as having a better chance than broader legalization
measures. This year several Republicans, including Senator Marco Rubio
of Florida,
worked on alternative proposals
that could attract support from their party. An estimated 1.7 million
young immigrants would be eligible for legal status under the Dream Act.
But the youths opted to fight for broader gains, concluding that events
were working in their favor after the Nov. 6 election, when Latino
voters turned out in large numbers,
overwhelmingly in favor of Mr. Obama.
“We have an unprecedented opportunity to engage our parents, our
cousins, our abuelitos in this fight,” said Cristina Jimenez, a leader
of the United We Dream organization, using the Spanish word for
grandparents.
Although most of the young people who attended the conference do not
have legal papers, it was a sign of their new confidence that the
network held its congress in the convention center downtown, in a
conservative state where most voters oppose amnesty for illegal
immigrants.
In June, Mr. Obama
announced two-year reprieves from deportation
and work permits for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, an
initiative that they saw as a victory for their protests over the past
two years. Some participants here already had their reprieve documents.
For many young people, getting here was still a challenge. Some who came
from California said they had taken the risk of flying for the first
time, passing security with state identity documents. Others came by car
from places like Florida, New York and Texas, driven by the few among
them who have valid licenses.
Their decision to push for legal status for their families was intensely
emotional. When they were asked at a plenary session how many had been
separated by deportation from a parent or other close family member,
hundreds of hands went up. They were critical of Mr. Obama for deporting
more than 1.4 million people during his first term.
“When Obama is deporting all these people, separating all of our
families, I’m sick and tired of that,” said Regem Corpuz, a 19-year-old
student at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was born in
the Philippines.
“Our families’ dreams were to get a better future,” said Ulises Vasquez
of Sonoma County, Calif., “but our future is with our families
together.”
On Sunday, six immigrant parents, also here illegally, joined a “coming
out” ceremony where they spoke in public for the first time, as many
youths have done in recent protests.
One father, Juan Jose Zorrilla, 45, who is from Mexico, recounted how he
had entered the United States several times by swimming across the Rio
Grande. “For parents, there is no sacrifice so large that we won’t make
it for our children,” Mr. Zorrilla said. A mass of youths jumped up from
their chairs to embrace Mr. Zorrilla and the other parents.
Much of the debate centered on how the movement would navigate hard
realities in Washington. Opposition to legalization remains strong among
Republicans, who control the House.
Network leaders said the election results, in which Mitt Romney won only
27 percent of the Latino vote, give them new influence with both
parties, but particularly with Republicans.
“The Republican Party alienated Latino voters in ways they hadn’t done
before,” said Lorella Praeli, a leader of the United We Dream
organization. “Our leverage is that our community is growing,” Ms.
Praeli said. She suggested that young immigrants ask Republicans: “Do
you want your party to see the inside of the White House again?”
