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Dream Act 2010 Status

September 21, 2010 by · Comments Off on Dream Act 2010 Status 

Dream Act 2010 Status, More than 100 people filled the courtyard of the Village LA Gay & Lesbian Center on Sunday, September 19, 2010, to raise community awareness and funds scholarships for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) to undocumented students at UCLA a reception, “In Defense of Students: Out, proud and without papers.” Basically, there are over 300 students enrolled at UCLA undocumented. Since the increase in enrollment from 32% earlier this years, one in five of these students has had to withdraw from college because they could not pay the fees and other scholarships have lost opportunities because of their situation.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32) spoke of his support for the Federal DREAM Act, which is a pilot of a proposed defense spending bill to be voted on this week by the U.S. Senate. The DREAM Act would create a path to citizenship for undocumented students and members of the armed forces that meet eligibility requirements. Rep. Chu spoke of a campaign volunteer before then I knew he was gay, undocumented and not eligible for government financial aid and struggling to pay for college. The congressman felt so moved by her story that she paid her first quarter at UCLA.

Four students spoke of their struggle to complete their education and complex identities as being openly gay and paperless. Diego Sepulveda, ideas (the organization of undocumented students at UCLA) and director of the National Coalition of Students Queer, spoke of the importance of “coming out” as undocumented friends, teachers, and lawmakers to put a face human to the plight of these students. He referred to the growing solidarity between the movement of immigrant rights and the LGBT community’s fight for equality.

Diego explained that he learned of his undocumented status when he began applying for college. He was taken to the U.S. as a child and attended school here throughout high school, like all his friends had. He and the other students, explained the financial struggle to attain their educational goals and the emotional challenge of knowing even if they graduate, job opportunities are close.

Roland Palencia, a political refugee from Guatemala and UCLA alum, spoke of his own struggle to survive when crossing the US-Mexico border during the 1970s. Representing the Latino Alliance Equality, Mr. Palencia said: “We’ve invested heavily in education of these students that just makes sense to legalize our investment. We desperately need an educated workforce to compete in the world economy. The DREAM Act will These high-achieving students a chance to flourish and contribute to society. This is a win-win. I urge the LGBT community to help the students finish their education through financial support and urge you to contact your senators and ask them to pass the DREAM Act. ”

A broad coalition of LGBT organizations sponsored the event, including the LA Gay & Lesbian Equality Centro Latino Alliance, FAIR, the Fund HONOR, Immigration Equality, API Equality-LA, WELFARE, the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Estate and The Wall The / Reports. The organizations and individual sponsors can contribute online at www.LibertyHill.org search “UCLA Dream Fund.”

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