A Fair and Just DREAM Act by Matias Ramos

Religious Leaders and American Scholars Believe in DREAM Act
Washington, D.C. – This week, leading American scholars re-issued a national sign-on letter in support of the DREAM Act. This move comes in the heels of growing advocacy by the faith community across the nation and especially in Washington, D.C. American scholars and the faith community agree that the DREAM Act is economically and morally right for our country. DREAMers all over the country have joined them in telling their stories in communities across the nation, making the case for this small piece of sensible immigration reform.


The DREAM Act is based on the principles of fairness and justice. From its inception, the DREAM Act was intended to provide children brought to the United States against their will an opportunity to become productive members of society. The substance of the DREAM Act has changed throughout the years, but its core principles have remained constant. Last week the House of Representatives approved the DREAM Act in an historic vote that re-invigorated the push for the passage of the bill before the end of the year. The Senate is expected to soon take up the new version of the DREAM Act for a vote.


The United We DREAM Network praises Congressional leaders for their efforts in securing the passage of this important piece of legislation. Bipartisan support in the passage of the bill is important and should be based on the bill’s core principles. The nation still faces the challenge of addressing immigration reform in a more complex and comprehensive way and the DREAM Act is the first step towards achieving that. A DREAM Act based on justice and fairness would re-establish morality in the debate over immigration policy and help our country move forward.


As a national immigrant youth-led organization, the mission of the United We Dream Network is to achieve equal access to higher education for all people, regardless of immigration status. We aim to address the inequities and obstacles faced by immigrant youth and to develop a sustainable, grassroots movement, led by immigrant youth, documented and undocumented, and children of immigrants. We use leadership development, organizing, policy advocacy, alliance building, training and capacity building to pursue our mission at the local, state and national levels. Please visit http://www.unitedwedream.org/