Thread: IL: Rallying for DREAM Act, immigration reforms

Rallying for DREAM Act, immigration reforms

By Vikki Ortiz Healy

Tribune reporter

10:45 p.m. CDT, April 30, 2011


A crowd of several hundred students, immigrants, community leaders and elected officials packed a Southwest Side church Saturday for a rally calling for the passage of an Illinois DREAM Act and other immigration reforms.

"This is the Land of Lincoln, and in Illinois, we are fighting back," Alie Kabba, board president for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told the crowd inside the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in West Lawn. At times, the audience became so spirited that some attendees jumped up onto the church's pews to cheer.

Attendees arrived by the busload and carried signs with slogans matching the chants they yelled: "Education not Deportation!" and "One Nation, One Dream!"

Dozens of college-aged participants wore paper graduation caps in support of the Illinois DREAM Act, which would create private college scholarships for students brought into the country illegally when they were children. Attempts to pass a federal DREAM Act have failed repeatedly in Congress since it was first introduced in 2001.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, Senator William Delgado and Representatives Dan Burke and Edward Acevedo joined several other local leaders who were on hand for the event.

Mike Hogan, president of the University of Illinois, said he believed the Illinois DREAM Act would give all students the chance they deserve to succeed.

"It will open up the life-changing opportunities of exceptional students who have been shut out," Hogan said. "In this country, it shouldn't be that hard to chase the American dream."

Sirma Arreola, a 24-year-old student at Northeastern University, drove from Wheeling to attend the rally. As an undocumented immigrant, Arreola said she has had to alternate semesters of college with time off for work in order to afford the cost of tuition without financial aid.

While she was crushed after federal DREAM act failed again in Congress late last year, Arreola said she was hopeful that a local version is being considered in Illinois.

"It's encouraging that it didn't die, that people are still fighting for it," she said.

Besides the state DREAM Act, attendees at the rally pushed for a Smart Enforcement Act that would allow local governments to choose whether they want to cooperate with a federal immigration enforcement program that targets hardened criminals but has also led to the deportation of illegal immigrants arrested for misdemeanor crimes.

Others in the crowd lobbied for redrawing political district maps so that they would better reflect immigrant communities.

www.chicagotribune.com

Dream Acts and Amnesty is not going to happen as long as we have Republicans in office who are going to stand firm for tougher immigration bills and a secure border. What is needed is an ICE deligation at the protests and they need to be checking documentation. Arrest any who are found to be undocumented. Keep that up and the number of protests will decline rapidly.

Originally Posted by BillCunnane

Dream Acts and Amnesty is not going to happen as long as we have Republicans in office who are going to stand firm for tougher immigration bills and a secure border. What is needed is an ICE deligation at the protests and they need to be checking documentation. Arrest any who are found to be undocumented. Keep that up and the number of protests will decline rapidly.

Correct Bill.

Republicans will not allow illegal aliens to become voters in this Country, which is reason for the Dream Act. We will stand strong with those that walks with us!!

No more amnesty. No more rewards. They only encourage MORE Illegal Immigration. Its time for change. Its time to stand our ground and say "No more"
Its the ONLY way to fight Illegals flooding across the border...

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, Senator William Delgado and Representatives Dan Burke and Edward Acevedo joined several other local leaders who were on hand for the event.

These traitors need to be voted OUT next time they come up for re-election! Where are all the TRUE fighting Illini? Where was ICE?

Sirma Arreola, a 24-year-old student at Northeastern University, drove from Wheeling to attend the rally. As an undocumented immigrant, Arreola said she has had to alternate semesters of college with time off for work in order to afford the cost of tuition without financial aid.

This CRAP enrages me! She drove from WVa. probably with NO license. She's attending Northeastern (not cheap! It's a private school.) and she's working! So much for hiding in the shadows. Once again Where was ICE?

Originally Posted by nomas

Where was ICE?

Under the direction of Barack and Jan they are hiding in the shadows and allowing illegal aliens to run rampant all over America.

Sirma Arreola, a 24-year-old student at Northeastern University, drove from Wheeling to attend the rally. As an undocumented immigrant, Arreola said she has had to alternate semesters of college with time off for work in order to afford the cost of tuition without financial aid.

A lot of people work their way through school and she is not special.

I liked the "One Nation, One Dream!" thing. Exactly what's the name of the one nation? Did we progress to the United Federation of Planets and I missed it?

nomas, I believe the article was referring to Wheeling, IL. It's a suburb of Chicago probably about 45 minutes away from the school I think she goes to. According to www.neiu.edu, the main page says it is "The most ethnically diverse university in the midwest". I guess that means diverse in terms of legal and illegal aliens too.

Newmexican, I thought the same thing when I read it. Boo, hoo. Someone has to work to put themselves through college?!? I guess they think it should be completely free to all illegal aliens?

No big surprise that the comment section on the source article was disabled. It looks like 14 made it before they shut it down. I think they only want opinions if it follows their agenda.

When I went to school, everything was tracked via social security numbers. All the digits were even posted with exam grades for all to see. I wonder whose soc. # she's using and what'll happen when she graduates to another number.

The only good part of the article is that it says these are "private college scholarships", not public ones…