DREAM Students hold voter registration campaigns

For a long time our student organization held many events that encouraged citizens to vote and we also held numerous citizenship workshops where we helped permanent residents become citizens.

At the same time i couldn't help but to feel some sort of resentment for not being able to vote and knowing a lot of things about the system; there, registering people to become citizens... how ironic.

Today i came across this article and realized how important it is for us, DREAMER's to let people know what is going on with the presidential candidates and the DREAM Act for example. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have endorsed the DREAM Act numerous times. I have always felt more trust towards Obama, i have to confess that during the debate in Austin Texas on Feb. 23rd, his assurance that the DREAM Act would be a top priority made me smile.


Some of my friends who can vote but don't usually do have decided to listen to me and vote. If today i was able to go out and vote i would.

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SJSU students, legal and illegal, plan grass-roots voter registration campaign
By Javier Erik Olvera
Mercury News
Article Launched: 02/27/2008 01:33:14 AM PST

Jose Ruiz is like many college students.

He's outspoken. He's politically active. And, most important, he wants to make sure as many people as possible hit the polls come Election Day.

Why? Because he can't. Ruiz is an illegal immigrant.

Buoyed by Super Tuesday's record Latino voter turnout, a San Jose State University student group - made up of both legal and illegal residents - is planning a widespread, grass-roots campaign to register voters, especially those who can speak for them at the polls.

"I don't need to live in the shadows anymore," said Ruiz, a 24-year-old SJSU student whose mother brought him from Mexico on a tourist visa when he was a child.

But the campaign is already sparking some controversy, with immigrant advocates applauding the students' efforts and opponents arguing their efforts could have grave consequences for U.S. citizens. No matter the reaction, though, it's another step forward for the group known as Student Advocates for Higher Education, which has challenged lawmakers to pass a bill granting certain illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they graduate from college.

Group members have repeatedly made headlines during the past year. First they took part in a weeklong fast last summer to draw attention to the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (or DREAM) Act, prompting conservative radio host Michael Savage to suggest they starve to death. They also rallied....(more)

Image obtained here