The DREAM ACT's Advocates Who Can Vote

Helping friends her age who came here illegally is important to Estrellita Montiel, 22. (from NY TIMES 7 16 07, photo by Oscar Hidalgo)



Perhaps the nation is unaware of the millions of advocates ready to help with the DREAM ACT and other legislative issues. The current immigration debate has mobilized Latino voters. There will probably be a big surprise in November - when the nation realizes that the Latino population has decided to use its political clout.

Remember that every undocumented immigrant (or DREAM ACT student) has a relative, friend, colleague, neighbor or employer who knows and respects him/her and will be willing to go to bat for his/her rights. If you start multiplying the numbers, the total is much more than anyone has realized.

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Raising Young Voices for Illegal Mexican Immigrants
New York Times
By DAVID GONZALEZ
Published: July 16, 2007


Who knew a civics lesson awaited every time Daisy and Moises Mendoza looked around their neighborhood in East Harlem? Their parents came to New York from Mexico and raised them the hard way, earning pennies at a time handing out fliers on street corners and selling shaved ice snacks in parks. Other teenagers gave up on school to deliver food or bake pizzas. Their neighbors often slipped into the dreary low-profile routine of the illegal immigrant, sweating in gardens or construction sites and not complaining.

That is where the civics lesson kicked in. Lucky enough to be born in New York, Daisy and Moises are citizens, for whom voting and civic participation are a birthright and duty. They grew up as pint-size bilingual guides helping their parents understand what was happening at school meetings and visits to the doctor’s office. They are active in a youth group at Esperanza del Barrio, a local advocacy group that started out helping street vendors. And while they have to wait to cast their first ballots — Daisy is 17 and Moises 15 — they already feel a special responsibility to help their neighbors...

...Robert C. Smith, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College who has extensively studied New York’s Mexican population, estimated that the city’s half-million Mexicans could have as many as 150,000 children born in the United States. Another big chunk of children came to New York in the early 1990s, when they were reunited with parents who benefited from a 1986 amnesty law that made them legal residents, allowed them to bring their children here and put them on the path to citizenship. And many more are on the way right here, thanks to a rising birthrate.

“We’re beginning to see people coming of voting age,” Dr. Smith said. “Already Mexicans have surpassed Dominicans in terms of birth. For the next 20 years, Mexicans have the tremendous potential to become a political force.”

The image of the Mexican community for years was one of an illegal and politically apathetic group. But in recent years there have been signs that the younger generation is willing to speak out, starting with issues that most directly affect it, especially education.

In 2002, immigrants successfully pushed for the City University system to preserve in-state tuition rates for students here illegally. Currently, they are seeking to keep alive the Dream Act, federal legislation that proposes to offer tuition help and a path to citizenship to immigrant high school graduates....

for complete article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/nyregion/16citywide.html