Answering Obama’s call to ‘move forward,’ Chicago community leaders declare support for the DREAM Act and demand passage this year

[Tania]

MEDIA ADVISORY

PRESS CONFERENCE

Contact: Tania Unzueta, (773) 387-3186

ilehl...@gmail.com

Answering Obama’s call to ‘move forward,’ Chicago community leaders 

declare support for the DREAM Act and urged passage this year

WHAT: Following President Obama’s July 1 declaration that he is ready to ‘move forward’ with immigration reform and specifically of the importance of the DREAM Act, leaders from Chicago’s business, faith, higher education and advocacy communities, along with families, stand in solidarity with undocumented youth in support of passage of the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act as stand-alone legislation and an incremental step toward immigration reform. Organizers will also speak about the support for the mass mobilization being called by youth in Washington D.C. for the

19th, 20th and 21st of July.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 7, 10:00 am

WHERE: Offices of the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES) at the  UIC Campus, Student Service Building (SSB), Suite 2640, 1200 West Harrison Avenue

WHY: Despite Obama’s call to action to fix our broken immigration system, bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform remains stubbornly stalled and it is extremely unlikely that it will be passed before the upcoming November elections. The DREAM Act provides a solid step forward as a down-payment towards immigration reform. Immigrant youth and their families cannot wait any longer, and the immigrant community needs both Democrat and Republican leaders to take an active role in moving the DREAM Act forward this year. Introduced nearly a decade ago by Sen. Dick Durbin, DREAM offers a pathway to education, military service, professional opportunities and citizenship for ‘Dreamers’, the immigrant youth who have been living in the United States since they were children, many for nearly their entire lives. The DREAM Act allows students to step out of the shadows and to continue their education which benefits them, their families, and the US economy, and American society as a whole.

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