News from the National Immigration Law Center

Please send all email responses to bernstein@nilc-dc.org.

Yesterday evening, Nebraska became the 10th state to provide instate tuition to undocumented immigrants students who have attended and graduated from its high schools. It did so in dramatic fashion, overriding Governor Dave Heineman's veto. The bill (LB239) had passed by a 26-19 margin, but needed 30 votes for an override. Somehow supporters managed to change exactly 4 votes to get the necessary 30. I have not had a chance to speak with advocates in the state, but I'd like to think that 12,000 people marching peacefully in white shirts and waiving American flags in Omaha, 5,000 more in Lincoln, and another 4,000 in South Sioux City may have had something to do with the outcome.

In other great news, last week, in the midst of all of the hoopla around comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced its version of the DREAM Act. The following information about the House bill and the action request are courtesy of Melissa Lazarin of the National Council of La Raza.

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A Summary of the “American Dream Act”

To increase support in the House of Representatives, the language of the House bill was changed to read almost exactly like the Senate “DREAM Act,” S. 2075. The previous House bill, the “Student Adjustment Act,” was less restrictive in some ways. For example, the “Student Adjustment Act” did not include high school graduation or a GED as one of the requirements for immigration relief. Changing the bill to resemble the “DREAM Act” will facilitate advocacy though, and could help obtain support from otherwise unlikely congressional members.

As in the “DREAM Act,” the “American Dream Act” would:

• Repeal the federal provision discouraging states to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students, thereby restoring states’ rights
• Place certain U.S.-raised immigrant students on a path to citizenship

As is also the case in the “DREAM Act,” students would be considered for legal permanent resident status on a conditional basis if they:

• Entered the U.S. prior to age 16
• Have lived in the U.S. for five years by the date the law is enacted
• Have good moral character (a common term in immigration law), and no criminal record
• Attained a high school diploma or a GED in the U.S.

The conditional status would be lifted at the end of six years if the individual has: 1) graduated from an institution of higher education or has completed two years of college in good standing, or 2) has served in the U.S. military for two or more years.

Finally, as in the “DREAM Act,” students who are 12 years or older on the date the law is enacted would be protected from deportation and would be granted work authorization so long as the individual is attending a U.S. K-12 school.

Take Action Now:

To demonstrate your support for the “American Dream Act,” please do the following:

1. Call the following members and thank them for introducing and supporting the “American Dream Act”:

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)	(202) 225-4695
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)	(202) 225-4211
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)	(202) 225-2778
Rep. Luis Fortuño (R-PR)	(202) 225-2615
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)	(202) 225-8203
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)	(202) 225-8220
Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA)	(202) 225-2565
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL)	(202) 225-6201
Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA)	(202) 225-6576
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)	(202) 225-3931
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)	(202) 225-1766
Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN)	(202) 225-4755
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO)	(202) 225-2876

2. Call your Representative and ask them to cosponsor the “American Dream Act.” The U.S. Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.

3. It is especially important that we get our previous Republican supporters back on the bill. If your members are any of the following, please call them as soon as possible and urge them to cosponsor the “American Dream Act”:

Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX)	(202) 225-4511
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT)	(202) 225 7751
Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE)	(202) 225 4165
Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)	(202) 225-2305
Rep. James Gibbons (R-NV)	(202) 225 6155
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)	(202) 225-7896
Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA)	(202) 225-5476
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA)	(202) 225-2523
Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE)	(202) 225-6435
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)	(202) 225-2315
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)	(202) 225-3031
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT)	(202) 225-5541
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL)	(202) 225-5271
Rep. Robert Simmons (R-CT)	(202) 225-2076
Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ)	(202) 225-3765
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)	(202) 225-6216
Rep. James Walsh (R-NY)	(202) 225-3701
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)	(202) 225-3635
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM)	(202) 225-6316

To subscribe to the DREAM listserv, please email Jennifer Hojaiban at hojaiban@nilc-dc.org with "subscribe to DREAM listserv" in the subject line and include your contact information in the text of the email. To unsubscribe from the DREAM listserv, please email Jennifer Hojaiban at hojaiban@nilc-dc.org with "unsubscribe from DREAM listserv" in the subject line.

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'LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES RALLY TO SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRANT REFORM

Remember When "NO IRISH NEED APPLY" ?

Locally elected officials, leaders from the St. Louis faith community, labor and the business community are uniting on Thursday, March 16, 2006, to express their support for comprehensive immigration reform as the immigration legislative agenda turns to the U.S. Senate.
Speakers at the press conference include:

* St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay

* Reverend Teresa Mithen, Jobs With Justice Religious Co-Chair

* St. Louis AFL-CIO President Bob Soutier


This Friday we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the holiday where we all become Irish for a day! Yet in the 1850's the Chicago Post wrote, "The Irish fill our prisons, our poor houses! Scratch a convict or a pauper, and the chances are that you tickle the skin of an Irish Catholic. Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country"

Today the country is engaged once more in a debate about immigrants who are the current New Americans. This remarkable assembly of leaders should be applauded for standing together for workable, comprehensive reform of our immigration system. Their unity on this issue is a signal that serious, bipartisan reform can be achieved and should be addressed by the U.S. Senate with haste.

While immigration reform is often identified as a divisive issue, sensible reforms to our current immigration laws are actually well within reach. The key to success requires a plan that is both bipartisan enough to pass and comprehensive enough to actually fix what ails the current dysfunctional immigration system.

The plan must address the 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S. We cannot and should not deport these 11 million family members and workers; nor should we continue to make life miserable for them in hopes that they may someday deport themselves. This approach, still favored by some after a decade or more of trying, is already a demonstrable failure.

Most undocumented immigrants have been here for a long time; 70% for more than five years. They work, they pay taxes, they contribute to American life. We have to entice them to come forward, make themselves known to authorities, and then ask our permission to stay. Therefore, any immigration reform must have a path by which immigrants can earn their way to the right side of the law.

The only way to get control of our borders and put immigration on a legal footing is to create a legal framework that more closely fits the realities of the supply and demand for legal immigration. This will enhance security, elevate the rights of all workers, allow employers to compete on a level playing field, allow for meaningful enforcement, and protect the basic rights of immigrants, whether they come permanently or temporarily.

Enthusiastic Crowd Welcomes Freedom Riders to St. Louis

104 participants in the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride were warmly greeted by nearly 900 St. Louisans downtown last Sunday, September 28. The freedom riders arrived at Keiner Plaza at about 6:30 p.m. chanting "Immigration Built This Nation" as they were cheered by a diverse audience from the many sponsoring religious, labor and social justice organizations, including Instead of War, as well as other local citizens and immigrants. The event included musical performances and speeches from an illustrious group of local leaders, activists and immigrant rights advocates. Several speeches recounted the current plight of America's working immigrants and resident aliens, who suffer under an arcane set of immigration laws as well as a new and perilous diminution of civil and due process rights under the USA Patriot Act. Speakers at the event included Bob Soutier of the St. Louis Labor Council, Safina Ibrahim Mohamed, Anna Ghounem, Matt Morrison, Charles Oldham, Sra Angelina Dominguez, Imam Nur Abdullah, Pastor Beulah Brandon, Fr. Richard Vogt and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. The event was emceed by Joan Suarez, a prominent local labor leader and IOW steering committee member.

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PATRIOT Act Needlessly Causes St. Louis Families Pain, Separation and Grief Over Loss of Loved Ones

• An Egyptian-born long-time legal U.S. resident, married to a U.S. citizen, is deported without notice of the hearing to determine his status after INS loses his file


• A Mexican-born long-time legal U.S. resident is arrested and thrown into jail because he switched license plates from his car to his truck. When he becomes ill, to avoid emergency room charges, the police in the municipality where the arrest took place, call the INS, now part of Homeland Security, who arrive, interrogate and ship the man off to their deportation hold center in Mexico, Missouri, where the man dies.

Both of these examples of civil rights abuse happened right here in “River City” and were made possible because of the Patriot Act. Both of these stories will be highlighted on Sunday, September 28 when St. Louis welcomes 108 Immigrant Worker Freedom Riders at Kiener Plaza with a Rally beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Just as the Freedom Rides of the early 1960’s exposed the brutality of legal segregation in the South, today’s Freedom Ride will expose the injustice of current policies and laws toward today’s immigrants. The Freedom Riders of the early 1960’s, many of whom are part of this mobilization, are American heroes who taught us that when ordinary people show extraordinary courage, it can spark a social movement that can change the course of history.

COME BE PART OF AN HISTORIC EVENT…
BE AT KIENER PLAZA ON SEPTEMBER 28 FOR THE IMMIGRANT WORKER FREEDOM RIDE RALLY!

Join Us for the St. Louis Stop on the IMMIGRANT WORKERS FREEDOM RIDE!

Sunday, September 28, 2003 at 5:30 pm
At Kiener Plaza in Downtown St. Louis

Immigrant workers, living and paying taxes in the United States, deserve the rights:
* to legalize their status, to have a clear road to citizenship,
* to reunify their families,
* to have a voice on the job without regard to legal status, and
* to enjoy full protection of their civil rights and civil liberties... rights denied by their undocumented status and outdated laws.
The road to citizenship needs a new map. The goal of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride is to help draw that map.

Music & Speakers - - Families Welcome! The St. Louis steering committee is committed to making all IWFR events a safe space for all people.

National and Local Sponsors include: Missouri AFL-CIO, St. Louis Labor Council AFL-CIO, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees (HEREIU), Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), St. Louis District UNITE, United Farm Workers (UFW), St. Louis Jobs with Justice, African Mutual Assistance Association of Missouri, African Refugee and Immigrant Services, Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN), Gamaliel, Immigration Project-Granite City, Immigration Law Project-St. Louis, St. Louis Instead of War Coalition, Korezapa, Manos Unidas, Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU), National Farm Worker Ministery, National Immigration Forum, National Interfaith Committee, St. Louis Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), St. Louis Worker Rights Board (WRB), United Congregations of the Metro East (UCM), United States Student Association, United Students Against Sweatshops, Vietnamese Center, Catholic Community Services International. Additional sponsors.

Help us spread the word. Download and distribute the flyers (Adobe PDF Format): English -- Espanol -- Francais