My name is Sara. I was born in Nayarit, Mexico. My parents brought me to the U.S when I was only 3 months old. I have been ever since; growing up in this country is what makes me who I am. I am now 16 years old and a junior in high school. Every day I go to school, all I hear is what college everybody is going to and where I plan to go. My mom and dad decided to move to the U.S because they wanted a better future for themselves and their children. The main reason that we still live here is simply because it has become our country. It is filled with opportunities and freedom and we have lived here for as long as we can recall and have earned the honor of saying that. We’ve come to love and honor this country.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always felt like an American. I do things Americans do, I talk the way Americans do, I say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday as every other American student does, and I have dreams like every American. Being American doesn’t just consist of you being here legally, but also all the great things you have done for this country. It means more than just a paper with lettering on it. It means having love, respect, and honor for your country. 

As somebody who has worked so hard in school for every A+ and B+, I most certainly think that I deserve to feel as if it is worth something at the end. Staying up late and studying for my Biology AP test the next morning or for any other advanced and honors class, is well worth being considered an American. I, as a Hispanic student, put as much effort and desire in school as much as my fellow American friends.

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The following letter was written by Erica - a Vanderbilt student, TIRRC volunteer, and strong ally of the Nashville DREAM Act Committee. Thanks Erica for letting us share this beautiful plea for the DREAM Act.

Dear President Barack Obama,

Thank you so much for your open support of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.  This bipartisan legislation addresses the situation faced by many undocumented youth who were brought to the United States years ago as immigrant children and have since grown up here, attended American schools and have kept out of trouble. These undocumented youth are not presented with a pathway to documentation, which leads to a series of issues that many Americans face: gang violence, high High school drop out rates, self-segregation, and lack of access to resources, especially financial resources. Americans have always chastised each wave of immigration in this country. We need to focus on our original beliefs of Emma Lazarus’ famous poem The New Colossus, which is graven on a tablet on the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Lady Liberty’s lamp does not come equipped with an on/off switch.

I am from Staten Island, New York and am now attending school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee due to Deborah Bial’s Posse Scholarship. In Staten Island I worked with “at risk teens” otherwise known as gang youth, in an organization I helped create titled Eye-Openers: Youth Anti-Violence Task Force. The major reason many young people feel they have to become part of a gang is they never see a pathway to being more then an illegal alien. They have no hope. There is no social security number granted to undocumented youth upon graduation day; hence, they have no reason to continue and complete high school. There is no future career. A student can continue their studies and never have the opportunity to gain a well-paying job. Instead the young people are taught that they must be satisfied with the day laboring jobs that people hire them for, or they sadly turn to illegal activity such as drugs and violence just to make ends meet. We need to stop failing these young people. We need to take a stance and protect the future of undocumented youth in America.

I am very excited that you have spoken about DREAM Act before, and fully support it, however with each passing day that the senate does not vote, peoples lives are stuck in limbo. I am privileged born an American. My fellow classmates from my local high school cannot all say the same. My continuation into higher education was made possible because of my eligibility, due to my social security number, to apply for scholarships that have brought me to Vanderbilt University. Without a social security number I do not know what path I would have taken. These young people need to have hope instilled in them. They need to see that if they continue to stay out of trouble, and achieve academically they will have the opportunity to begin the pathway to documentation.

In the long run this opportunity leads to more taxable dollars. A single person with a bachelor’s degree who earns an average $60,000 of taxable income will contribute $9,640 to taxes and welfare annually; in a 40-year span he/she will have contributed $385,000. We have already invested in the education of these students and should allow them to reach their full potential and contribute to our society. Ultimately the DREAM Act ensures that no child in America is denied his/her dream of having a better life if s/he is willing to work for it. Please do not forget the young people of America that are simply asking for an opportunity to call himself or herself an American citizen.

Respectfully yours,

Erica

Vanderbilt University

Great article in the Nashville Scene about undocumented students in TN, the DREAM Act, and the TIRRC campaign to secure Rep. Cooper's support of reform. Click "Read more" to check out the full article. 

By: Kyle Swenson

...Immigration status is fodder these days for school-hall taunts, in part because the public education system is facing a growing gulf between undocumented students and those born here.

According to Oscar—who's been a student in the Metro school system since kindergarten—he never really considered himself, or was treated by others, as different. That changed, he says, in high school, when college became a conversation topic. All of a sudden, a Social Security number was the key to higher education—splitting the student body into the haves and have-nots.

"My freshman year, that's when everything just changed," he says. "Everyone started talking about college, the ACT and the SAT. I just felt out of place with everyone."

Read More...

Join us as we ask Rep. Cooper to take leadership on the DREAM Act!Date:  Thursday, Dec. 17th, 2009

Time:  3:00-5:00pm

Place: TO CARPOOL, meet at TIRRC at 3:00pm. FINAL LOCATION is outside the downtown library at 3:30pm

Come join teachers, students, and community members as we deliver a symbolic holiday tree to Rep. Cooper as we ask him to co-sponsor the DREAM Act.

Every year an estimated 65,000 students who grew up in the United States graduate from high school and can't go on to college because of their immigration status. The Dream Act would allow our students equal opportunity to access higher education as well as a pathway to citizenship so they can fully contribute to our society.

This holiday season let us come together and unite to turn our dreams into reality.

We are so pleased to announce that Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9) has become the first Tennessee Representative to co-sponsor the DREAM Act (H.R. 1751)! Joining 104 others in the House, Rep. Cohen has made a strong statement in support of equal access to education and a brighter future for our youth.

Rep. Cohen has taken leadership on an issue that affects thousands in his district and throughout the nation. Hopefully, Rep. Cohen’s stance will persuade other TN Congressmen, like Nashville’s Jim Cooper, to do the same.

If you live in Rep. Cohen’s district, please thank him for his support! You can call his office at (202) 225-3265, or email him through this link: http://bit.ly/4gkLnk