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Demand that President-elect Obama Sign into Law a Federal Dream Act!

 Make all College and University Campuses Sanctuaries for Immigrants: No ICE Harassment and Deportations

 Build the New Independent Integrated Civil Rights Movement

November 15, 2008

We did it! On Tuesday November 4th, when America, led by its youth, elected the first black president ever in the history of our nation, we scored an important triumph against racist prejudice and irrationality. What seemed like an impossibility over one year ago was made real by tens of millions of Americans overnight. Across the country, overwhelming celebratory joy took over the night. That evening we saw the beginnings of the possibilities for our nation. On television we saw black, Latina/o, Asian, Arab, white, and immigrants across the country rejoicing together, some cried, overcome by joy. Strangers became sisters and brothers. What we saw that night was the possibilities of an integrated, diverse America where everyone is welcome and we knew we were not the only ones who felt this way, but that there were people all over the country who felt the same way.

Everything is possible now if we fight. In the days before President elect Barack Obama's inauguration speech he will be formulating his first 100 days in office. This is our moment to lay out the beginnings of our vision for America and begin the struggle in earnest to realize it and make sure that he remains accountable to us and our dreams. This year, hundreds of thousands of gifted undocumented California students will be discriminatorily denied access to state funded financial aid and the opportunity to attend college and tuition costs continue to rise. Something can and must be done to ensure that all students are an equal part of Obama's vision for America. The educational futures of tens of thousands of undocumented students hang in the balance.

The Dream Act, supported by President-Elect Barack Obama and every significant California educational institution and organization, if signed into law, would give undocumented students the same opportunity as every other high school graduate to receive federal and state financial aid, and open a pathway toward citizenship for these students. We must build a University-wide campaign now to get all the campuses collectively calling on Obama to pass a federal dream act. Already Chancellor Birgeneau of UC Berkeley has sent a letter to Obama calling on him to enact the Dream Act. This is a simple fair and just demand that if met could put us on the road to realizing equal educational opportunity for undocumented students.

For the first time, millions of young Latina/o, black, other minority, immigrant, and poor white students who have been denied equal educational opportunities and access to higher education feel like the lives they have been working so hard to attain might actually be possible to realize. Now is the time to mobilize our collective power to make those dreams real. The fight is only just beginning. We can win!