Immigrant students march for DREAM Act

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Nearly 150 immigrant students marched Wednesday morning from the Auraria campus library to the office of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar to push for support of a bill in Congress that grants certain undocumented students a path toward legal immigration status.

But the group ended its rally in disappointment when sponsors of the DREAM Act failed to get enough support for a Senate vote.

"It is a roadblock but I don't think it signals the end of the DREAM Act," said organizer Julie Gonzalez, standing outside Salazar's 15th Street office in Denver. "It shows us that there still is a lot of work to be done and we need to keep working."

Supporters say the bill, which stands for Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors, gives talented and hardworking immigrant youth an opportunity to attend college or join the military and become productive citizens. Opponents blast the bill as a form of amnesty that would worsen the illegal immigration problem.

Local congressman and presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo tried to get immigration agents to raid a recent news conference about the bill hosted by sponsor Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and assistant majority leader. No one from Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed up.

"His hatred for people who are immigrants is boundless," Durbin said.

Tancredo's response: "Just because these illegal aliens are being used for political gain doesn't mean they get immunity from the law."

The bill would have allowed students living in the country illegally to gain legal status for six years if they met certain criteria.

They would have been required to have entered the country with their families before they turned 16, lived here for five years, graduated from high school or be enrolled in college or the military, show good moral character and not be under deportation orders.

A 2006 analysis by the Migration Policy Institute estimates that 360,000 undocumented high school graduates across the country would immediately be eligible for conditional legal status if the bill became law.

The Denver march was organized by local activist groups Padres Unidos, Jovenes Unidos and Metro Organizations for People, among others.

The marchers - many of them wearing white T-shirts - held signs with phrases such as "Education is a right, not a privilege" and "Sponsor the DREAM Act now."

They chanted "Si Se Puede" (loosely translated as "Yes we can") and "Show me what America looks like. This is what America looks like."

Local activist Nita Gonzales told the students she was proud of them.

"You are our leaders because you stand up," she said. "Tell your teachers and your professors shame on them. They should be marching today, too."

IN HER OWN WORDS: CATALINA GONZALEZ

'They say we are the future,' she says

Catalina Gonzalez, a 16-year-old junior at Montbello High School in Denver, came to the U.S. from Mexico City when she was 8 and would be eligible for legal immigration status if the DREAM Act passed.

"I want to be an elementary school teacher in special ed. They need a lot of love. It'd be really hard (without the DREAM Act). There's a possibility that I don't go to college. It would be too much money . . . I would love the law to pass. It gives us opportunity. Without it, you really don't have choices. If they pass that, we would continue with our dreams They say we are the future. So they should give us an opportunity so we could make the world a better place."

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361 The Associated Press contributed to this report.