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Immigration bill backers train youths for advocacy

Published February 26, 2006


About 150 college and high school students from the Midwest will learn how to advocate for immigrant rights, a cause close to home for many youths.

The students hope to win support for the DREAM Act, a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that would provide legal status for undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school and meet other standards.

The training, which was to begin Saturday and continue Sunday in Elk Grove Village, is the first of five nationwide youth training sessions organized by the Center for Community Change, a Washington-based advocacy group. Participants also are planning a vigil in front of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office in Batavia.

Although critics say the DREAM Act rewards lawbreakers, students have emerged as sympathetic symbols of the need for immigration reform, center spokeswoman Germonique Jones said.

The training will include students from a dozen local institutions, including DePaul University, Elgin Community College and Schaumburg High School in addition to participants from six other states.