Impunity Watch: North America: Students March for DREAM Act

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

FLORIDA, United States - Three college age students began a 1,500-mile journey from Miami, Florida to Washington D.C. to lobby Congress and the Obama Administration to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act. The legislation is commonly referred to as the DREAM Act. The students began their journey in the beginning of January.

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation that would grant conditional permanent residency to undocumented or illegal immigrant students within the United States. The legislation provides an opportunity for undocumented immigrant students who were brought to the United States while they were young children to begin the path to citizenship. Those students must meet certain qualifications in order to attain conditional permanent residency status. Among the qualifications are the students must be of good moral character and graduate from an American high school or obtain a GED. Also, the undocumented students must show that they arrived in the United States before the age of sixteen and have lived in the United States for five consecutive years. Despite strong support for the DREAM Act it has not passed either house of Congress.

The DREAM Act was created in response to a growing need by many undocumented students that graduate from high school each year. Approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools each year. However, they have trouble gaining admission to college or in obtaining a job because of their residency status.

The students decided to begin their march because of their "deep desire and need to complete citizenship." Gaining attention to the DREAM Act is one of the goals of the students' march. Other goals are to pass immigration reform because of the growing separation of families, comprehensive worker's rights, and to gain a pathway to citizenship.

The three students names are Carlos Roa, Felipe Matos, and Gaby Pacheo. They all are current or former students of Miami Dade College. They also are undocumented students. Therefore, if they are caught while marching to Washington, D.C. they can be deported back to their respective countries. Each student had different reasons for taking part in the march. However, one common theme emanated from the students reasons for participating: a lack of opportunity to further their education or employment because of their residency status. For example, Roa was barred from join the military because he did not have a valid Social Security number. The students hope that their march will bring attention to the immigration reform issue.

For more information, please see:

ABC - Illegal Students Make 1500 Mile March to Washington - 26 January 2010

Central Florida Future - Putting on Their Walking Shoes - 24 January 2010

NYTIMES - Advocates of Immigration Overhaul Alter Tactics in New Push - 1 January 2010

DREAM Act - What is the DREAM ACT