Dream Act National Day of Action!
November 30, 2010
Contact: Lizette Jenness Olmos, (202) 833-6130 ext. 16
Call to Urge Congress to Support the DREAM Act
Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country, will stand with students from around the country on Tuesday, November 30 calling for a Dream Act National Day of Action. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have promised to bring the DREAM Act to a vote during the lame-duck session.
“We need everyone to call Congress and urge passage of this important legislation,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “With a DREAM Act vote possible later this week, we need your help now more than ever to remind our elected officials that we should give talented youth a chance to contribute to this country.”
There are those that will have you believe that the DREAM Act will cost taxpayers money but this is further from the truth. The DREAM Act will not cost money but will make money for taxpayers. A very conservative estimate finds that the average DREAM Act student will make $1 million more over his or her lifetime simply by obtaining legal status, which will net thousands of additional dollars per student for federal, state, and local treasuries according to the National Immigration Law Center.
The “DREAM Act” is bipartisan legislation that would remove many of the barriers that immigrant youth confront due to their lack of legal status. The bill would restore the right of states to determine residency requirements for higher education benefits and establish a path to legal status for immigrant youth who are long-time residents of the United States and who satisfy certain educational requirements. The “DREAM Act” was reintroduced in Congress in March 2009, and this week youth and their allies will come together to show their support and ask Congress to advance this legislation. LULAC is part of a broad alliance of national and local groups in support of the bill.
An estimated 65,000 students graduate from high school every year without legal immigration status. If the DREAM Act becomes law, young people who were brought to this country as children and remained in school or joined the military will be allowed to work toward citizenship. Passage of the DREAM Act would not only enable these young people who grew up here and work hard to capture the American Dream, but to contribute to the country they call “home.”
Call your senators and representatives in their district offices today and urge them to vote for the DREAM Act. We must act to support equal opportunity for all students. To contact your state's senators and your representative visit: www.house.gov; and www.senate.gov. To be connected through the Capitol switchboard call: 866-996-5161.
Just this week, the conservative organization, Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CfCIR) called for passage of DREAM Act legislation because it is the right thing to do.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating through 880 LULAC councils nationwide.
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