DREAM Vote Results

[Patricia Deoliveira]

Hello,

 

As you know, the Dream Act was voted on earlier today. There were 52 YES (which were the majority), but for this type of vote, a Cloture Vote to proceed, there needs to be 60.

 

I am saddened to see that we did not have the votes needed to pass DREAM, but I don't see this as a loss. I don't see it as a loss because we are only 8 votes away from Victory.

 

I have so much to say, yet nothing at all. I need time to put all of my thoughts together and to better express myself. So please understand why I am not writing more. 

 

One thing that I can and will say, is that I am not going to let these 8 Senators control or decide my future.

 

Another thing that I can say for sure is that I can't think of anybody else that I would like to be with at this moment more than you guys.

 

You can call me if you want to talk, 617350-5480. I am are here to listen to you, and I want to know what you guys think.

 

Also, if you are an educator, or work with students, please make sure to reach out to those students and support them.

 

-Patricia

 

P.S. I want to include something that Juan from Illinois wrote.

 

DREAM Team,

Many of you may have heard the news, but the DREAM Act lost today. It only got 52 of 60 needed votes. It got 44 votes against and 4 senators were not in the building. Although they would have voted in favor, they would not have been enough. I saw the debate online, and Durbin gave one of most inspired set of speeches I have ever seen a politician deliver. This vote has many repercussions nationally, so I'm going to see try to explain what this means for us here. ULTIMATELY, WE NEED TO MEET AS A GROUP IN ORDER TO REFLECT, GRIEVE, RELEASE FRUSTRATION, DECIDE NEXT STEPS AND ALSO CELEBRATE, because many of us have been changed from this entire process.

Guys, Although we have had a setback in the battle, the overall struggle is not over. If you guys aren't familiar, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited the discrimination of African-Americans took 9 years to pass. Just remember, we do this because we care not only for ourselves, but for our families, our communities, and because we are on the correct side of this debate. We represent justice and the best of the human spirit, that is why we immigrate here, and we will win this debate.

1) Because the DREAM Act received the support of a majority of Senators (including 12 republicans), there might be an effort to try to move the DREAM Act in the House of Representatives now instead of the senate first. This is not guaranteed to win or even happen, so let's talk to some national allies and other state immigrant coalitions to see where people seem to be headed and then we can decide here in Illinois what we think and then influence others nationally.

2) We currently have a campaign banquet set for November 16th. We assumed the DREAM vote would happen in November and it has come up on us. I think it is best to move up our Campaign Banquet to NOVEMBER 9TH and use that as the place for reflection and decisions of next steps. Remember our banquet includes free dinner and fun (most likely whirly ball).

In Solidarity,

Juan Jose Gonzalez
New Americans Democracy Project Associate / Youth Organizer
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
jgon...@icirr.org
312) 332 - 7360 x 236

 

Patricia de Oliveira
Student Immigrant Movement
www.simforus.com
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition
www.miracoalition.org
105 Chauncy St, 9th floor
Boston, MA 02111
Phone: (617) 350-5480 x219
Fax: (617) 350-5499
pdeol...@miracoalition.org