Immigration Project Features Dozens of Powerful “DREAM Stories” on Eve of Congressional Debate on DREAM Act
For Immediate Release: Monday, November 29, 2010
Contact Burke Stansbury, [email protected], 202-339-9304
As Congress prepares this week to vote on a bill that could provide a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of young people, the Center for Community Change’s “We Are America” stories project released more “DREAM” stories this week. With more and more undocumented youth stepping forward to share their experience, the stories project has become a clearinghouse for the power and diversity of such stories.
Alina Cortes is one such young person living in the state of Texas, a key battleground in the debate over the DREAM Act. Cortes came to the United States with her family when she was nine years old and ultimately graduated in the top 5% of her high school class in San Antonio, only to find that her options were limited by her undocumented status. Cortes dreams of becoming an officer in the Marines; as a Republican, she has made a special appeal to conservatives to support the DREAM Act. Listen to Cortes’s story here.
Steve Li came to the U.S. on at the age of 11 with his parents, who were escaping political turmoil in Peru. Steve became an honors student, graduated high school, and dreamed of completing nursing school to open his own clinic. Instead, Steve was arrested and sent to a detention facility to await deportation. Read Steve’s Story here.
Carlos Roa came to the U.S. with his family when he was only 2 years old. Carlos wanted to join the military and become an engineer but was unable to because of his status as an undocumented immigrant. He now studies architecture at Miami Dade College. Earlier this year, he was one of four students who walked 1500 miles to Washington DC as part of the Trail of Dreams. Watch Carlos’s story here.
For Saad Nabeel, the wait for the DREAM Act to pass was too long. Nabeel was deported to Bangladesh in 2009 at the age of 18 after living in the U.S. since he was 3 years old. Says Nabeel, “It frustrates me because I was never ‘illegal.’ My family just fell out of legal status. We paid taxes every year and have Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses.“ Read Nabeel’s story here.
David Cho is a double major in International Economics and Korean at UCLA with a 3.6 GPA. He dreams of attending the Kennedy School of Government and eventually becoming a U.S. Senator, which is why he decided to come forward and share his story of being undocumented. Cho is originally from Korea, immigrating to America at the age of nine. Watch an excerpt from this powerful speech given by Cho at UCLA.
Nidya came to the U.S. in 1988 and grew up in San Diego. The full impact of her status did not hit her until she wanted to go to college and many of her dreams became impossible to reach. Watch Nidya’s Story here.
Dozens more DREAM stories are available at http://www.weareamericastories.org/stories/dream-stories
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We Are America stories project is a multimedia database of compelling and diverse stories that put a human face on the immigration debate.