Day Laborers, Migrants Walk to Give Thanks and DREAM

Written by Alex Garcia, Sun Contributing Writer
Tuesday, 23 November 2010

Annual Thanksgiving March highlights importance of migrants in this country

Dozens of day laborers, politicians, pro-immigrant activists and undocumented students walked through the streets of North Hollywood to give thanks for the things received during the year and to urge Congress to approve the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to legalize their status.

"We want to remind people that immigrants are part of this country’s history," said Jorge Mario Cabrera, spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrants Rights in Los Angeles (CHIRLA), alluding to Thanksgiving commemorating the arrival of the Pilgrims into this country from England.

"We also want to tell people that we will continue to fight to better the lives of immigrants with an immigration reform, but meanwhile, we need to support the Dream Act," he said. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was first introduced in 2001 to provide undocumented youths who came to the United States before the age of sixteen a path toward legalization on the condition that they attend college or serve in the U.S. military for a minimum of two years while maintaining good moral character.

The measure would benefit more than two million undocumented students, who would in turn have an enormous impact in the economy, as suggested in a new report by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center.

Titled, "No DREAMers Left Behind: The Economic Impacts of Dream Act Beneficiaries," the study indicates approval of the Dream Act would have a $3.6 trillion impact on the economy.

"These study results add an economic justification to the existing moral and practical arguments for the DREAM Act," said Dr. Raul Hinojosa- Ojeda, Founder/Director of the North American Integration and Development (NAID) Center.

"Passage of this legislation is sensible economic policy that represents a return on U.S. taxpayers’ investment in public education - to the tune of $3.6 trillion in income alone."

The measure did not pass earlier this year when it was introduced as part of a military spending bill. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced he will bring the DREAM Act to the floor, as a stand-alone measure, during the lame-duck session.

Some of those politicians who will be deciding the fate of the bill were part of the march in North Hollywood, which started at a day labor center along Sherman Way and ended at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, about a mile way. Among them Congressmen Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Howard Berman (D-CA), who spoke about their support for immigration reform and the Dream Act.

"When they finish high school, these students must choose between working illegally or trying somehow to continue their education while under a legal cloud," Berman has said. "They have grown up here, and America is the only home they know. They consider themselves Americans. But their lives are filled with uncertainty, and their future is limited so long as they have no legal status."

Gutierrez also supports the measure.

"We need the DREAM Act. I see it as a down payment on comprehensive reform and we will continue working towards comprehensive immigration reform today, tomorrow and until it passes," Gutierrez said.

"But I will not pass up the chance to save a million or more children who grew up in the U.S., who know no other country, and who are threatened with deportation unless we act."

As is customary, the participants carried crosses with the names of migrants who have died crossing the border. US flags were also visible, as well as large banners in support of an immigration reform and the Dream Act.

At the end of the march, a mass was held, and later lunch was provided. Some 300 food baskets were also presented to day laborers and needy families.

"Thanksgiving is a moment to recognize that God has blessed us and that we should share those blessings," said Rev. Richard Zanotti, head of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

He said the event was also about recognizing the presence of day laborers and their contributions to the country, despite that fact that they may be imperceptible to society at large.

"We need to insist that politicians advance these two measures [Dream Act and Immigration Reform] because there are a lot of families affected by this," Zanotti said.

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