Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

By Crista Cornavaca

Students from the United We Dream Coalition and DREAM Act supporters gathered at Lafayette Square in front of the White House and on Capitol Hill last week to promote awareness for the DREAM Act and to give visible presence to the previously invisible undocumented student population. These activists are striving to pressure Congress to move the DREAM Act to a vote.  The Act would allow undocumented students who have lived in the United States for most of their lives to receive a higher education, allow students to accept the academic and athletic scholarships they have been unable to access due to their immigration status, and after two years of military service or successful completion of higher education, continue on their path to being productive and patriotic Americans with legal permanent residence.

By: Ann Atalla
Advocacy Attorney, CLINIC

Immigration advocates have been down in the dumps lately, with news reports pronouncing the death of immigration reform in 2010.  As the nation’s largest network of legal service providers for immigrants, CLINIC has felt the pain as vividly as other immigrant advocacy organizations.  Although the lack of action in Congress can be discouraging, not all is wrong with the immigration landscape these days.  In three recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided immigration advocates with reassuringly good law. 

In our work to educate and increase awareness about the need for immigration reform, we have  discovered a common thread. Tell someone about why he should support immigration reform and you may only be partially successful at convincing him of the need for immigration reform. Introduce him to an immigrant and let that immigrant tell the horrors of navigating the U.S.