On February 21, 2008, former presidential candidate, Barack Obama, said in the Democratic Presidential Debate with Sen. Hilary Clinton the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GwNVo7siFA&feature=player_embedded“… something that we can do immediately that I think is very important is to pass the DREAM Act, which allows children, who
no fault of their own, are here but have essentially grown up as Americans. Allow them the opportunity for higher education. I do not want two classes of citizens in this country. I want everybody to prosper. That’s going to be a top priority.”
DREAM Act introduced in U.S. Congress
On March 26, 2009, DREAM Act legislation was introduced in the United States Senate and identical legislation in the United States House of Representatives:
in the Senate, S. 729 is known as the DREAM Act;
in the House of Representatives, H.R. 1751 is known as the American DREAM Act.
DREAM stands for Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors.
If Congress approves the DREAM Act and if signed by President Barack Obama, certain undocumented students who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and who have graduated from high school would be granted temporary legal residency and could earn permanent legal residency.
Go to the following link for information about who would qualify and why the DREAM Act is right and just:
http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/DREAM/dream-bills-summary-2009-03-31.pdf
Passage of the DREAM Act is a logical next step for students in Washington State and nine other states in the nation that allow undocumented students to pay in-state/resident tuition to go to college. HB 1079 is the bill approved in 2003 in Washington State that allows undocumented students to pay in-state/resident tuition at Washington colleges and universities.
YOU CAN HELP AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO ACT NOW!
All of us can help the national effort to get the DREAM Act approved by doing our part right here in Washington State.
It is important to get Washington’s members of Congress (U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives) to co-sponsor the DREAM Act.
Our two United States Senators are co-sponsors of the DREAM Act in the Senate. However, not one of our nine members in the House of Representatives is a co-sponsor of the House version of the DREAM Act, H.R. 1751.
Here is how what you can do to help encourage our members of Congress to support the DREAM Act and it will take less than 20 minutes:
Contact our U.S. Senators:
Send an email to Washington’s two U.S. Senators—Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray—thanking them for co-sponsoring S. 729, the DREAM Act, in the Senate. Encourage Senators Cantwell and Murray to ask their colleagues in the Senate to approve the DREAM Act as a first step in immigration reform.
Sen. Murray email
Sen. Cantwell email
Contact your Congressman or Congresswoman in the House of Representatives:
None of Washington’s nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives has signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1751, the American Dream Act. This means that your representative, also called Congressman or Congresswoman, who represents you in your Congressional District, is not a co-sponsor of the American DREAM Act.
Here is how you can contact your representative in the Congress:
Locate your Congressional representative by going to this link, accesswa.gov; once there double click on the map in the area of the state that you live in; by scrolling down on this page, you can see who are the representatives of each of the nine Congressional Districts.
Or, click on this link, Find My District; once there, type in your address; then scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what Congressional District you live in.
Once you’ve located your representative, send him or her an email requesting that he/she co-sponsor H.R. 1751, the American DREAM Act. You do not need to write a lengthy reason. See the example in the box below.
Example:
Dear Congressman McDermott:
I live in your district. I am from Seattle. I would like to know if you will co-sponsor H.R. 1751, the American DREAM Act. If not, please let me know why not.
This bill is important because it helps deserving students to get an education beyond high school and to become legal residents. They will then be able to repay the investment made in their education and contribute their talents and skills to their communities and our country.
Also, please encourage your colleagues in the Congress to approve the DREAM Act as an important first step in immigration reform.
I appreciate your hard work. Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Your name and address
Note: Congressman McDermott represents all people who live in the 7th Congressional District, legal or not. You can write to him, and you don’t have to indicate your legal status.
You can cut and paste the message above, but include the name of your congressman—see above to locate him/her.
Our members of Congress will be in the state May 23-May 31, between June 27-July 5, and almost the entire month of August. We are looking for people in local communities to help plan visits with representatives and students.
Contact Barbara Guzman for more information, bguzman@leapwa.org.
http://www.leapwa.org/ep/dream_advocates.asp
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