When education's under attack, don't light a candle

At 8pm on March 13, 2012, members attending the 2012 NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education annual conference in Phoenix, AZ, including leaders from ScholarshipsA-Z were asked to light candles at a Candlelight Vigil for Social Justice.  Meant to bring awareness about social injustices in AZ, specifically those that target LGBTQ and immigrant families, this event only attracted approximately 5% of the entire population attending the conference (250+ out of 4,700).  As a result, this "act of kindness" became a paternalistic and passive move in a community that primarily creates change through action, not vigils.  Fortunately for NASPA, there was at least one moment of inspiration when the chairs of the GLBT and Latino/a Knowledge Communities spoke out against Arizona's oppressive legislation.  Leaders like Dr. Michelle Espino (University of Georgia) and Dr. Juan Guardia (Florida State University),  brought TRUTH to the otherwise passive and politically correct event by impacting the hearts and minds of everyone in attendance with their words and promises for action.


When education's under attack, what do you do?  Fight back!  With candles? NO, with action.


Because while we were lighting candles, the Maricopa County Sheriff was organizing yet another workplace raid to detain and deport more hardworking members of our community who happen to be undocumented.  

Candles = silence = inaction = injustice 

- Matt
Director, ScholarshipsA-Z

Undocumented & Unafraid in Alabama

You're watching this video because Fernanda Marroquin, a talented DREAMer, has been arrested. As an undocumented student who is unafraid and unapologetic, Fernanda and the other 12 protesters arrested in Alabama's capitol on Tuesday, show us what courage really looks like. Watch her video. Listen to her story. Her struggle is our struggle. Read more. Help get the protesters out of jail.

Fernanda has a lot to risk, yet she IS UNAFRAID. Are YOU?

~Matt

"Secure Communities" Are Anything But

Recently, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will "move ahead with its controversial Secure Communities immigration enforcement program, even if states do not agree to participate." Read more.

This move by President Obama's administration is disappointing and ridiculous. "Secure Communities" does anything BUT provide security to our families. Instead, it tears families apart and threatens the most basic tenet of a community: a sense of safety and care for each other. With this program, who will want to report any crimes in their neighborhoods, with the fear that they may be detained by ICE agents?

United We Dream notes:

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as of May 23, 2011, the U.S. government has deported 1,026,517 immigrants since the beginning of fiscal year 2009. That figure includes noncriminal immigrants and DREAMers who are victims of our outdated immigration system. (Read more.)

This program is a problem for ALL of us as citizens, DREAMers, etc. Don't let our broken immigration system continue to break apart our communities. Get in involved. Call President Obama at 202-456-1111. Here is a sample phone script.

- Matt

Co-director & Co-founder

ScholarshipsA-Z

Mini-Legislation Update: So Close Yet So Far

Maryland was on the brink of joining the likes of California and Texas in passing its own version of the DREAM Act. It would have given undocumented immigrants the opportunity to attend in-state universities and pay an in-state tuition. However, opponents of the law have successfully gathered enough signatures (100,000) to send the law to the voters as a referendum during the next election in 2012. The law would have taken effect this month, but instead DREAMers in Maryland will have to wait more than a year just for the chance to get in-state tuition.

In other news, Alabama and Georgia are already feeling the economic backlash of their strict anti-immigrant laws. People have already started packing up and leaving because they (understandably) do not want to be around when the law takes effect. As a result, there is a severe shortage in workers despite relatively high unemployment rates. For example, there are not enough people to help rebuild and repair the damages left in the wake of Alabama’s recent tornados. Georgian farmers had to leave many crops to rot in the fields because of a lack of workers. The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association estimates around $300 million in profits lost.

--Susan

The STAPLE Act and the DREAM Act

I read an interesting opinion piece in the Daily Californian today about the DREAM Act and the STAPLE Act, which I’d never heard of before. STAPLE stands for Stopping Trained in America Ph.D.s from Leaving the Economy, and it’s an act designed to stop the brain drain of people with advanced degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields from leaving the country. It would give automatic green cards to foreign students who gained a higher degree in those fields. It has been advocated by Bill Gates, President Obama, and both Democratic and Republican representatives. The writer of the article, Peggy Sands Orchowski, did not specify why the act did not pass originally, but it’s interesting to think of it in terms of the DREAM Act. She thinks that Democrats could try to attach the DREAM Act to the STAPLE Act, since it has more bipartisan support, and that the two acts could possibly pass together.

Another intriguing point she made was (I think) intended to be a throw away comment to start off the piece but really had me thinking. She said that immigration reform is not “dead” in the current Congress the way that people think. While it is true that comprehensive immigration reform has hit a brick wall, immigration reform in general still has a chance of happening piece by piece. This made me wonder, does immigration reform have to pass all at once? I’m aware that immigration is a really complex issue that requires multiple legislation changes and that the easiest way to do that would be to pass everything at once, but with the current political climate the way it is, would it be easier to pass things one at a time? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Click here to read the opinion piece.

New ICE Memo Released

Last Friday, ICE director John Morton released a memo urging officers to exercise prosecutorial discretion when dealing with undocumented people. Prosecutorial discretion is “the authority of an agency or officer charged with enforcing a law to decide whether to enforce the law in a particular case” (Immigration Policy Center). In other words, it is an officer’s ability to decide which case he/she wants to pursue. The memo describes some basic guidelines when it comes to prioritizing cases: the people who are trying to harm the United States should be dealt with first so that ICE’s limited resources do not go to waste.

This memo is different from previous memos because it outlines specific factors that officers should take into account. First, there are 19 categories that officers should think about when deciding how to proceed. They include anything from the age of the person to whether the person has family who are citizens, from the person’s criminal history to whether the person is the primary caretaker for a seriously ill family member. In addition, there are 8 positive factors that the memo says should “prompt particular care and consideration” (ICE Memo). Among those are whether the person is a veteran or member of the U.S. armed forces and if the person has lived in the United States since childhood. It is implied that exercising prosecutorial discretion with people that fall under these categories means not necessarily deporting them immediately.

While this memo is in no way a substitute for the DREAM Act, it is certainly a step in the right direction. Now we just have to wait and see what ICE officers will do.

Click here to check out the article

We're Not the Only Ones Fighting

As many of us already know, Maryland passed its own version of the DREAM Act on April 11th making it the 12th state to allow undocumented talented students to pay in-state-tuition at a four-year college. For many students this made a big difference; in-state tuition is about $9,000 compared to the $25,000 if you're out-of-state. Knowing that our numbers are growing in strength with more supporters each day only gives us hope that someday more and more states will be added to this list.

Two days after this great achievement 22 U.S. Senators sent a letter to the Obama Administration asking to stop all deportations of any individuals who qualify for the DREAM Act. In this letter they expressed their concerns about the impact that would happen if the deportations of DREAMers continue. They asked for an opportunity for these talented individuals to have the option to stay and contribute to our society. They are asking for the Obama Administration to keep a record of ALL DREAMERS cases to have a better view on how many great, talented minds we have here in our country. Read the entire letter.

Reading this letter has only given me the strength to keep on fighting for my fellow brothers and sisters. Knowing that we are the not the only ones fighting this battle, makes it a lot easier. In the end I know that we must keep fighting, DREAMing and never give up.

- Cristian T.

Maryland DREAM Act Passes

On Tuesday, Maryland passed its version of the DREAM Act which once signed by the governor, will allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

The new law, which Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign, will allow students to be recognized as residents of their home states regardless of their immigration status and pay in-state tuition at Maryland’s public four-year colleges if they clear three hurdles: graduate from a Maryland high school, complete 60 credits at a Maryland community college and prove they and their parents paid income taxes for the prior three years.

In Maryland, the law means the difference between $8,416 in tuition that state residents pay and $24,831 that out-of-state students must pay.

Read the whole story about this amazing victory here.

SB 1070 & DREAM Act Impacts on AZ Economy

Immigrant advocates compare the economics of S.B 1070 and the DREAM Act

By Marcos Restrepo 11/23/10
(published in Florida Independent)

The DREAM Act would generate long-term economic benefits while Arizona-type immigration enforcement has had a negative economic impact on that state’s economy: That was the message delivered by participants in a press conference hosted by the Alliance for Immigrants Rights – Michigan.

The DREAM Act would grant a person who entered the U.S. illegally before the age of 16 conditional permanent resident status for a period of six years, after which he or she could aspire to be a legal permanent resident. The act requires youth to attain at least an associate-level college degree to be eligible for legal permanent resident status.

Arizona’s S.B. 1070 immigration enforcement law, meanwhile, would criminalize undocumented immigrants, currently a civil violation under federal immigration law.

Marshall Fitz told conference participants that the Center for American Progress contracted the firm Elliott D Pollack and Company to study the impact of S.B. 1070 on the convention industry. The study shows that conference cancellations and a stop to future bookings resulted in a $400 million loss in economic output and more than $130 million in lost earnings.

Fitz added that the only people who benefit from S.B. 1070-like measures are the politicians who create these wedge issues. He concluded that hopefully this study will give legislators pause before they follow Arizona’s path.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are up to 2.1 million people eligible for DREAM Act benefits, but only about 825,000 beneficiaries would gain legal permanent resident status.

The DREAM Act would produce thousands of college graduates, contributing to the pool of higher-income earners needed by the future workforce.

A UCLA No DREAMERS Left Behind study looks at two scenarios to project the national economic benefits generated by the DREAM Act by calculating the income of those affected over a 40-year period.

Raul Hinojosa, one of the authors of the UCLA study, said during the Tuesday press conference, “This is a critical moment for American civil rights and how we are looking to fill the high-skilled workforce of tomorrow.”

Hinojosa explained that the estimates of the net benefit for the U.S economy is in 2010 dollars and does not include the overall value of what people produce.

In one scenario, dubbed by the authors the No DREAMers Left Behind scenario, 2.1 million undocumented immigrants would become legalized and generate approximately $3.6 trillion over a 40-year period.

In the other scenario, in which 825,000 eligible individuals achieve legal permanent resident status, the study concludes that the income generated over 40 years would be $1.4 trillion.