DREAM Act activists are facing deportation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being arrested yesterday for staging a sit-in at the Hart Senate Office Building. Rather than be sitting in a prison cell right now they could be sitting in a college classroom thinking of ways to improve this country.
Activists have held sit-ins for the DREAM Act before, but usually only legalized citizens allowed themselves to be arrested. A dozen of yesterday’s demonstrators are here illegally, like Antonia Rivera, a UC Irvine graduate. Rivera, 28, was brought here from Mexico at six-years old by her parents. The banner that the activists gathered by said proudly, “Undocumented and Unafraid.”
Rather than applaud the bravery of these activists, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the author of the act, criticized them for “cross[ing] the line from passionate advocacy to inappropriate behavior”… “Sen. Durbin believes that we will win this fight on the merits, not through public demonstrations or publicity stunts.”
The Washington Post is reporting that it is unlikely these demonstrators will actually be deported given the political climate surrounding their arrests. However, the very fact that these demonstrators are willing to risk it shows how much they deeply love this country and want to contribute to it.
“We can’t live our lives afraid that there’s always something going to happen to us, just because we are undocumented,” said Francisco Gutierrez, 18, a Georgetown University student.
After opening the doors to DREAM University a week ago, the activists were dressed in blue gowns for a mock graduation held at a nearby church earlier in the day. Organized by the United We DREAM Network, DREAM University is a new spin on the 1960s teach-ins offering free courses taught by volunteer professors in a variety of subjects to show elected officials what could be. The activist will hold a press conference later today to update on the status of those arrested.
The DREAM Act would create a narrow path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have lived in the US for over 5 years, graduated high school, and are attending college or are enrolled in the military.
