North Carolina to give driver’s licenses to immigrants in Deferred Action program

Senate hearing on immigration reform touches on human cost of the debate

Growing immigration reform noise took another step towards bipartisan harmony on Monday as the Senate judiciary committee followed President Obama’s State of the Union call for legislation and Senator Marco Rubio’s GOP response, which echoed the need for comprehensive reform.

The speakers at the committee hearing included Jose Antonio Vargas, the undocumented Filipino journalist who came out in a high-profile New York Times piece, Janet Napolitano, the head of the Department of Homeland Security and Janet Murguia, the president of the National Council of La Raza.

“I can say unequivocally, what everyone knows,” Napolitano said as she opened her remarks. “The immigration system is broken and reform is long over due. Nothing is more central to the American story than the contribution of immigrants.”

Napolitano said that communities, workers and employers are “frustrated with a system that treats a drug smuggler the same way as a high achieving student.”

She was twice interrupted during her remarks, first by a group of Latino protesters who held “No More Deportations” signs and then by members of Migrant Justice from Burlington, Vermont who stood up and turned around to reveal “Human Rights Vermont” signs. Both groups were escorted out by security.

OPINION: Marco Rubio’s failed State of the Union response got lost in water break incident

Vargas became impassioned as he described what his life is like as an undocumented immigrant.

“Immigration is not merely about borders,” an emotional Vargas said, as he quoted the late Ted Kennedy’s book ‘A Nation of Immigrants.‘ “Immigration reform is about our future — immigration reform is about us,” he said.

Vargas sought to humanize the immigration debate much like he did in an editorial in the New York Times ahead of the hearing where he stated that the Pew Hispanic Center estimates 17 million people in the United States live in households where at least one person is an undocumented immigrant. “Furthermore, about 4.5 million children who were born in this country have at least one undocumented parent,” he wrote.

Republicans, who are in favor of greater border security and skeptical of a path to citizenship, peppered Napolitano with questions during her much longer turn speaking at the outset of the hearing. They zeroed in on asking her how the country can avoid the “mistakes of 1986,” when 3 million undocumented immigrants were granted citizenship but border security was porous.

“Immigration enforcement is light years away from what it was in 1986,” Napolitano responded. “There are 655 miles of fence infrastructure now, back then it was just a couple of miles of fence. [They] removed 25,000 individuals, now there have been 409,000 removals, which have caused some of the tensions we have seen today,” she said, referencing the protesters.

Members of Migrant Justice from Burlington, Vt., listen to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The hearing had a different overall tone than the House judiciary committee version last week, which seemed to be in favor of helping highly skilled workers but was skeptical of a path to citizenship.

RELATED: House judiciary committee hearing shines spotlight on highly skilled STEM workers, path to citizenship

NCLR’s Murguia said that most undocumented immigrants are long-time hard-working residents, many of whom came to the U.S. as children, pay taxes and provide for spouses and children. “The majority of Americans support earned citizenship,” she said. “The Latino community — three-quarters of which are citizens — want to see a clear path. If the process is unreasonable the Latino community and most Americans will consider the program disingenuous,” she added.

Murguia asked for the petitions of 300,000 Americans to be added to the record during the hearing. The petition drive was led by a wide range of immigration, Latino and progressive organizations, including CREDO Action, Presente.org, Reform Immigration FOR America (RI4A), Daily Kos, National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and America’s Voice Education Fund (AVEF).

Not much was heard from Tea Party firebrand Ted Cruz, who was recently admonished for being hard on cabinet nominee Chuck Hagel. “ I apologize, I lost my voice,” he said in a gravelly tone, adding sarcastically, “Perhaps from cheering too much at yesterday’s State of the Union.”

But Republican Senator Lindsay Graham picked up any slack, as he added his voice to the chorus of those who believe now is the time for immigration reform.

“I want to applaud you for making progress, we certainly have,” he said to Napolitano in reference to border enforcement. Graham asked her for a list of things that can be done across the nine sectors of border security to make it even stronger.

“This is the moment,” Graham said. “The pay offs for the nation are enormous. We can improve national security, the economy, help some people by giving them a second chance on our terms and get rid of those who are breaking the law.”

But Vargas brought it back to the human side of the debate. “What is the national interest of the country?” he asked, invoking the stringent Alabama law that affected undocumented immigrants. “Once HB56, out Arizona-ed, Arizona, I spoke with a Republican farmer. He said, ‘It’s not right for this state to say who my friends can be. My best worker is Paco.’ He has a room for him called the Guatemalan room.”

Vargas, who hasn’t seen his mom in 19 years, yearns for a day when he can travel with his grandmother to go visit his family in the Philippines. “We talk about immigration and enforcement as if we’re talking about aliens from Mars,” he said.

“We’re talking about human beings.”

Signing that petition and making those calls DO MATTER. I’m glad that the Andiola’s family saw quick relief but the same can not be said to 1.2 million families that President Obama has deported. 

If the DREAM Act were passed nationally today, by 2030 about $239 billion would be added to the US economy! California alone would add nearly $100 billion, and that’s just by passing the DREAM Act. Imagine the possibilities if we passed comprehensive immigration reform that allowed all undocumented people to come out of the shadows! THIS IS A NO-BRAINER

Day 7; Tour de Dreams

4th Annual CA Tour de Dreams (540 miles from UC Berkeley to UCLA)

Who are the Dream Riders?

Students from all across the nation who come together every year to embark on a 540-mile bike tour known as the California Tour de Dreams. 2012 is the fourth annual Tour de Dreams, predicated on raising scholarships for underrepresented and historically marginalized students. We cycle to raise awareness about the rising cost of higher education and to show students that with a

That amazing moment when Julio Salgado recognizes you… Amazing guy!

College Road: New opportunities for undocumented college students in 2013

When I was a student at UC Berkeley, I had a friend who told me he wanted to help a group of students get the financial help they needed to go to college. These were good students from working class families, yet government laws prevented them from receiving financial aid. Why? Because they were not able to become legal residents of the United States, even though many of them attended school in this country all of their lives and didn’t even know they were not “legal.”

After we graduated from college, my friend decided to do something about what he believed was a great injustice. His name was Marco Antonio Firebaugh and in 2001, when he was serving in the California State Assembly, he authored Assembly Bill 540.

Known as AB540, this law allowed undocumented students in California who met certain criteria to pay resident college fees rather than nonresident fees—which could be up to triple the cost— at community colleges, Cal State and UC campuses.

Although AB540 played a major role in advancing opportunities for undocumented students, the bill did not provide financial assistance. AB540 students have faced major obstacles paying for college because only U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents were eligible for federal and state financial aid.

That’s when by Boyle Heights resident and Roosevelt High School alumni, Assemblymember Gil Cedillo introduced more opportunities for undocumented students. He authored Assembly Bills 130 and 131, together known as the California Dream Act, which granted undocumented college students access to private scholarships and grants as well as publicly-funded state financial aid available to U.S. citizens and legal residents. The California Dream Act was passed into law by the California State Assembly and supported by Governor Brown in late 2011.

Starting in January 2013, AB540 students will be able to qualify for state grants. Grants are monies for college that do not have to be paid back. These include Cal Grants, university grants, community college BOGG fee waivers, grants for foster youth, and EOP grants. But they will still have to wait for the federal version of the DREAM Act, the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, in order to access federal financial aid and have a pathway to permanent residency and work authorization.

As a college counselor, I have had the pleasure of helping this population of students who work extra hard and face more barriers accessing college and employment than other students. Yet they are persistent, intelligent, eager to help their families and community, and full of hope for the future. Because these students are articulate and well organized they have been able to advocate for their rights through the democratic process.

The work of advocates like the late Honorable Marco A. Firebaugh and Assemblymember Gil Cedillo has provided opportunities for many young people to improve their lives and their communities through education.

It is time to make their dreams come true and no barriers can stop this human progress: undocumented, unafraid, and going to college.

Applications for the California Dream Act are available now and there is help for students on how to complete the forms. Information about AB 540, the Dream Act, and scholarships can be found at these websites below.

California Student Aid Commission
Dream Act Information and Application
http://www.csac.ca.gov/dream_act.asp

Los Angeles Cash for College
Financial Aid and Resources for College
http://www.lacashforcollege.org/resources.html

Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC)
Supporting Undocumented Students in Pursuit Of College, Career and Contribution
http://e4fc.org/studentresources/studentguides.html

California Dream Network
Connecting Undocumented Students in California Colleges
http://cadreamnetwork.org/

I Can Afford College
Information for the California Community Colleges
http://icanaffordcollege.com/

#22 - I arrived to pick up my verdict and I expected to be a lone ranger. How wrong I was. They had given the same date/time to about another 50 asylee applicants. As we arrived to received a number, first come first serve. We were then put in a waiting area. After a while they started calling us by fragments of 5. Then we went to another room that had about 5 windows. Once you entered they took your number down and gave you a new one. 

They were calling the new numbers all over the place. I was sitting in a room and in moments I would hear my verdict. Once your name was called you had one of two answers. The first was ‘Congratulations, your Asylum application has been approved. Here are your document and work visa, please make your way to the Social Security offices. Again, Congratulations and welcome to the United States’ 

That’s what I was going for, or you got ‘We apologize but your case has been sent to immigration courts, you have 16 days to appeal your case or turn yourself in’ 

I waited for about an hour, on edge the entire time. Finally my number was called and the woman was empty handed. She looked at me and the look in her face said it all. ‘I’m sorry but no verdict has been made on your application. Please come back in 6-8 weeks’. Are you kidding me?! I began to cry. All the emotions I had been holding inside just exploded on this poor woman. I was angry, I was furious, I knew where my case was headed. I was devastated. I practically ran out of the offices and sat on the stairs, just crying my eyes out. Envying all the lucky bastards that were approved. I called Robin and I started to cry even harder, I was fed up. I was two seconds from driving to Golden Gate Bridge and just ending it all. I didn’t want to appeal, I didn’t want to fight anymore. If this country didn’t want me then I didn’t want it either, I didn’t have anywhere to go. Moments later my lawyer called. I told him what they said and he said ‘That’s good news’

What?! HUH?! ‘You’re a Mexican Citizen, it sucks for you, you’re on the bottom of the to tum pole. San Francisco doesn’t have the power to grant you asylum. They can only deny your case. If they have nothing for you it means that your case has been sent to Washington. So don’t worry, come visit me in late June so we can get your work Visa and Social Security number while you wait on a verdict which can take up to two years’

I called Robin back immediately.. and the rest is practically history. 

Only 33% of Asylum applicants are approved by the United States.