[Los Angeles] A block away from the site of the Emmy Awards, fasters and supporters held a little ceremony of their own - celebrating the contributions of immigrants, the diversity of our communities, and highlighting the dreams of undocumented immigrant students.
Supporters from the Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network (MIWON), HanNuRi - Korean American Cultural Troupe, as well as student activists from Santa Monica College's Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) made a powerful presence at the fasting site.
In the morning, updates on other fasting efforts in Oregon and New York were provided, in which the Los Angeles fasters and supporters drew inspiration and motivation. Everyone also spent time talking about the DREAM Act, the importance of the legislation, and this 2-week fast action to escalate awareness and general support from community members. Following this building bonds session, students from ALAS led a powerful rally and picketing inside the USC campus.
ALAS is known for their tremendous strength in organizing and offering support for undocumented immigrant students at Santa Monica College. They are also part of the Los Angeles DREAM Team Coalition where they participated in numerous rallies, marches, and most recently played an active role in collecting over 2,000 DREAM Act petition letters including one from their school president. Alma Catalan, age 20, and a member of ALAS said, "I am participating today because I am one of many students that are hopeful that the DREAM Act will pass this year. I think even if the DREAM Act does not pass this year, we will feel like we accomplished something through this fast action. We are making a lot of people aware of this legislation. We are making a strong impact day to day and that is the most important thing to get the DREAM Act passed, if not this year, then in the near future."
Many community members showed a lot of interest on the DREAM Act, with many taking out their cell phones and making a call to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on the spot. This was a positive sign, following coverage from the Los Angeles Times. Univision and Telemundo came out today to continue their coverage on the DREAM Fast Action.
Day 7 of the DREAM Fast Vigil also saw the completion of one of the 1-week fasters, Han Jin Kim. A 22-year student at UCLA, Han Jin Kim was involved with the DREAM Act since the summer of 2002 through the Korean Resource Center (KRC). He felt empowered to be part of this effort and urged his comrades to keep the spirit alive throughout next week.
With Han Jin Kim's completion, Day 7 also saw newcomers to the DREAM Fast Action. Cliff Sukjae Lee, a former teacher with a charter school in Philadelphia, joined the fasters today as a 1-week faster. Also, 24-hour fasters Laura Zavala, Rocio Zavala, Jorge Zavala, Alma De Jesus, Alma Catalan, Juan Navarrete, Yazmin Otero, Abel Plata, and Maria Chan contributed to the growing list of fasters that are participating in this action.
DREAM Fast Vigil Campaign
September 13 - 25th
In front of the University of Southern California (USC) - CORNER OF
HOOVER AND JEFFERSON
Friends and supporters:
On Monday, September 13th, a DREAM Fast Vigil will be held for two weeks
to stress the urgency and the need for accountability around the strong
bi-partisan legislations known as the DREAM Act and the Student
Adjustment Act. Students, educators, and their friends have held
countless actions including call-in days, legislative visits, rallies,
marches, sign on letters, petition drives, and national mobilization
efforts, yet the DREAM Act has not seen significant movement in Congress
since it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 16-3 vote in October
2003.
This event is nationally coordinated by the United We DREAM
campaign and the New Americans Opportunity Campaign founded by national
and regional organizations such as the National Council of La Raza,
National Immigration Forum, HERE-UNITE, SEIU, Center for Community
Change, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and the New
York Immigration Coalition.
As we prepare to conduct the most dramatic non-violent grassroots action
around the DREAM Act/Student Adjustment Act to date, we are asking all
of you to ENDORSE the campaign and participate by:
1. Provide fasters to support our cause
2. Mobilize people for the launch and closing of the fast campaign
3. Provide volunteers to help with logistics throughout the two-weeks
4. Make a call to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) at
1-800-369-0315 and to President Bush at 202-456-1111 and urge them to
support the DREAM Act!
Attached is an endorsement sheet that explains in more detail on the
participation levels.
Please fax the endorsement form to Jane Chung, 323-937-3703 OR reply to
this message with your Organization, Name, Address, Phone, Fax, Email,
and how you can participate!
DREAM Fast Rationale
There is something particularly compelling about the DREAM Act that
differentiates it from most it not all of the bills that still havea a
realistic chance to pass Congress and be signed by the President this
year. The DREAM Act would provide a path to permanent legal status for
students who were brought to this country many years ago as undocumented
immigrant children, but who since then have stayed in school and out of
trouble. They would be granted relief only if they are able to
demonstrate good moral character and if they graduate from high school
and go on to college or to military service.
Each year, about 65,000 students who graduate from high school would
qualify for the DREAM Act. They include valedictorians, honor students,
homecoming queens, aspiring nurses and teachers, and future leaders. As
they graduate from high school and plan their futures, they stand at a
crossrods. Unless the DREAM Act becomes law this year, some of these
promising young students will be deported from their homes to a country
they barely know, and many others will give up their dreams for good.
This must not happen.
Large numbers of students, educators, friends, and other supporters are
passionately committed to these students and to their dreams. Over the
last few years, immigrant students themselves and their supporters
across the country have engaged in an enormous number of activities in
support of the DREAM Act. We have held hundreds of rallies, gathered
more than 100,000 petitions, met with members of Congress, gathered
compelling case examples, held press conferences, written letters, made
tens of thousands of phone calls, started independent organizations,
created web sites, and more. All of this work has brought the DREAM Act
to the verge of enactment, with enough cosponsors to be confident of
passage if there is a vote, and with sufficient community awareness and
support to keep the issue alive.
Unfortunately, the 108th Congress is nearing the very end of the session
and there has been no official movement since the Senate Judiciary
Committee resoundingly approved the DREAM Act last October, other than
the addition of cosponsors. The upcoming adjournment of Congress on
October 1st presents a very limited window of opportunity, but advocates
still hope that the DREAM Act can pass this year.
To make this happen, we need to translate our passion and committment
into increased public awareness of the plight of DREAM Act students and
demonstrate the urgent need for change. Furthermore, recognizing the
plethora of issues that will be competing for attention from the media,
the public, and legislators - such as the November election, the war in
Iraq, the economy, etc. - we must separate the DREAM Act from the many
other important issus vying for action by Congress and the
Administration.
Advocates have patiently waited for the legislative process to usher
through the DREAM Act. However, the clock is ticking. Talented young
people are being detained and deported, forestalling their hopes for a
bright future as educated and skilled contributors to the nation they
love and call home. Students and advocates across the country can wait
no longer, and have been left with no alternative but to take action
that peacefully and prayerfully increases the urgent pressure for
passage for the DREAM Act.
The 2-week fast, and coordinated solidarity days, will be the most
dramatic national grass roots activity in support of the DREAM Act to
date. It will help to focus public attention on the DREAM Act. It will
do so nonviolently, but in a way that shows the depth of commitment we
feel about the need for immediate action. Symbolically, we plan to link
our efforts to previous civil rights movements, and thereby remind
America and our elected representatives that the future of our youth is
a simple question of justice and morality.
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
New York: (212)330-8172
Los Angeles: (213)403-0131
***Please consider making a donation to the important work of the ActionLA Coalition, National Immigrant Solidarity Network and US-Mexico Border Actions
Send check pay to:
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