FW: I, too, Am America DREAM Act Rally Sep 22

[Rosi Carrasco]

... Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

...

O, let America be America again--

The land that never has been yet--

And yet must be--the land where every man is free…

-Excerpts from Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America be America Again” 1938

As immigrant youth and allies, we are writing to you because we are so close to passing the DREAM Act this year and because you have been key allies in the struggle for immigrant rights.
The DREAM Act currently has 40 co sponsors in the Senate as a result of the work of undocumented youth and our allies have done over the years.  But our work is not yet over nor will it end here. We need 5 more senator supporters to be able to pass the DREAM Act this year as one step for a pathway to citizenship for our communities. We would like your support in order to accomplish this win for our communities.

As you might now, Congress goes back into session on Monday September 13th, 2010. Campaigning and elections follow shortly after. The window to pass positive legislation around immigration this year is small.

We will have a rally in support for the DREAM Act on Wednesday September 22rd at 2pm called I, too, Am America DREAM Act Rally and would like your participation/collaboration and or endorsement.

We are inviting all those that have supported immigrant communities and the DREAM Act, including community organizations, University presidents and other staff, school clubs, community leaders, families, everyone. The rally will help to bring the issue further into the public sphere and pressure legislators to follow through on the support they have promised us.

With the ongoing attacks on immigrant populations through laws that refuse to accept the contributions, humanity, and dreams of our undocumented neighbors and families, we have decided to go beyond declaring our statuses and say that we too are America. We are looking for support in the following ways:

Building - Commit to publicize the event and/or endorse.
Reaching out to Media-The more attention we can bring to the DREAM act the harder it will be to ignore us.  
Fundraising- For the rally but also for the youth who still have court on October 1st in DC after risking deportation on July 20th, 2010 to urge senators to support the DREAM Act.
Urging Senators to support DREAM- Please urge your friends and colleagues (preferably from the following states) to call/fax/write to Senator Snowe and Senator Collins in Maine, Senator Voinovich in Ohio, Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett in Utah, Senator Brown in Massachusetts, and Senator Reid in Nevada and urge them to pass the DREAM Act as soon as possible.  The number is (888)2545087 and just ask to be connected to the Senators' number.


Thank you for the hard work you have been doing working with and for the rights of immigrant communities. In the words of Langston Hughes and the spirit of all the people that have fought for inclusion in this place we call our home: Let America be America again.


To endorse/collaborate with us please send an e-mail to  rigo...@gmail.com

Thank you.