To Accomplish Great Things, We Must Dream

As we talk about civil rights and social justice in education, one piece of legislation that deserves more attention than it is getting is the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would create a conditional path to citizenship for undocumented students through education or military service.

Among the stipulations for eligibility are that the beneficiaries must have come to the United States before the age of 16, spent five consecutive years in the U.S., graduated from high school or obtained a GED and demonstrated “good moral character.”

Former Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar, who has been representing the Hoosier State in the U.S. Senate since 1977, was one of four congresspersons to introduce the DREAM Act. “Access to higher education is an important tool in addressing immigration reform, particularly among undocumented students,” Lugar said in June. “Undocumented young people usually arrive with their families and have no understanding of their immigration status. By limiting these students access to college, we deny our country their intelligence, creativity, energy, and often their loyalty.”

Recently the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution to endorse the DREAM Act, stating, “We as a nation must welcome and serve immigrant students and children of immigrants. The Milwaukee School Board of Directors supports the Dream Act because it will further our goal of serving and supporting all students.”

Last week in Miami, Fla., students rallied in support of Jesus and Guillermo Reyes, brothers facing deportation to Venezuela.

Jesus, who arrived in the U.S. as a 12-year-old and now attends Miami-Dade College, told the crowd, “My dream is not too different from the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King. My dream is that millions, thousands of students … will not be judged because of their color, will not be judged because they are from third countries, will not be judged because they are aliens, but they will judged for the content of their character.”