Rally held in Hartman Park to pass DREAM Act
Published 6:34 pm Friday, May 10, 2013
Ray Corona was 9 years old when his family moved from Mexico to Everett, and even at that age, he knew they’d arrived in the country illegally.
A dozen years later, he is still undocumented, but this hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his dream of going to college, and next month, the 21-year-old will graduate from the University of Washington, Bothell.
Corona was enrolled in the Mukilteo School District and attended a high school that was part of the Achievers Scholarship Program, which allowed him to apply for scholarships despite his lack of documentation. The scholarships he received helped him finance his post-secondary education, but not all undocumented students will have the same access to scholarships as Corona.
To help others with similar backgrounds as his, Corona was part of a rally at Hartman Park in Redmond Friday afternoon to encourage people to contact local senators — specifically Sen. Rodney Tom and Sen. Andy Hill of the 48th and 45th Legislative Districts — to pass the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act for Washington. The bill has already passed in the Washington House of Representatives but has yet to even make it on the Senate floor.
“They deserve a vote,” said Redmond resident Krista Jensen. “These kids are all going to be in the work force…These kids are all our kids.”
RALLY OF DREAMERS
Jensen is the adviser for the Washington Dream Act Coalition (WDAC), a grassroots youth-led movement focused on raising awareness and building support to push for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act, and was also at Friday’s rally. In addition to her and Corona, the rally also included members of OneAmerica, a nonprofit focused on advancing the fundamental principles of democracy and justice at the local, state and national levels by building power within immigrant communities in collaboration with key allies.
OneAmerica Organizing Director David Ayala said the goal of the rally was to make the public aware that the DREAM Act — which would allow undocumented individuals who arrived in the United States before they turned 16 (referred to as DREAMers) to apply for permanent residency and eventually, citizenship — is still alive.
With permanent residency or citizenship, DREAMers would be able to apply for financial aid and scholarships that are currently out of their reach due to their lack of documentation.
“The only option available to undocumented students is private scholarships,” Corona said, adding that there are not a lot of those readily available.
A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Corona said with tuition at a public college or university set at about $13,000 per year, it is almost impossible to attend without options for financial assistance. Both Corona, who is the director of educational initiatives for WDAC, and Jensen said with such limited options to pay for college, undocumented students are likely to give up in high school because they don’t see the point.
“There’s no hope,” Jensen said.
She said if the DREAM Act were to pass in Washington, it would open up opportunities for students and put them on an even playing field as their peers as they would be eligible to apply for the same scholarships and financial aid.
“Where would (the undocumented students) go if they knew they had a pathway to college that would help pay for the bulk of it?” Jensen asked of the possibilities.
GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY
Ayala said the DREAM Act would open up many opportunities to students as they would be able to get a good education and be trained for — and work at — higher-paying jobs in Washington, contributing to the state’s economy.
“There are these bright minds there,” he said, adding that the DREAM Act would encourage DREAMers to put those bright minds to good use.
Steve Miller from the League of Education Voters for Washington said they strongly support the DREAM Act as most DREAMers have grown up knowing no other country than the United States but are caught in limbo.
Like Ayala, Miller said making it easier for DREAMers to go to college and work in the state would be beneficial to Washington.
“These individuals have talents we can’t afford to waste,” he said.
After learning about the DREAM Act, Nathan Kruse, a junior at Redmond High School and rally passerby, said hard-working students deserve to go to college — regardless of their status.
“This is the American Dream,” he said.
