The Democratic Primary is right around the corner and we want to make sure that the Dream Act is on the Democratic Party's Primary Ballot. How can you help? Sign the petition. Our goal is to reach 35,000 votes by Mid November, which will help us seal the Dream Act's position in the primary ballot.  

The only requirements are that you are a citizen who is NOT voting in the Republican Primary and you MUST be a US Citizen who is registered to vote or will register to vote. 
The link to download the petition is found below. Once signed please fax to 512-480-2500 or email to racuna@txdemocrats.org. Or you can mail it to ULI at 3106 Duval St. #310, Austin, TX, 78705. 

President Obama promised to stop the deportations of low-priority undocumented individuals, which includes DREAMers.  Despite this call for a more prioritized way of dealing with deportations, there are ICE agents unwilling to comply with the statements and Obama’s promises continue to go unfulfilled as many continue to be deported.

ULI came together in a demonstration highlighting the case of Shamir Ali, a DREAM Act eligible young man who came to the U.S. from Bangladesh at the age of seven.  He was recently detained and is now in deportation proceedings because Florida local ICE director, Marc Moore, denied him prosecutorial discretion.  We took a stand for one of many cases in which Obama’s promises have been only empty utterances.  

We, DREAMers, live in apprehension of being the next Shamir and to this call attention, “We are Shamir!”.  We received media attention from the Austin American Statesman, Univision, and the Texas Tribune, all of which documented our rally as we stood in the west mall chanting, “Obama Stop the Lies!” and “Education not Deportation!”.  

We continue to demonstrate that we are not afraid, neither to come out as undocumented nor to stand with our fellow DREAMers and demand that promises pertaining to our rights be fulfilled.   


More pictures of the event here

ULI is having a picnic at Zilker Park this upcoming Sunday, but we need you to decide when it will start. You can vote for your top 2 choices. 

Here is the ULI newsletter for the 10th to the 16th. Make sure to download the PDF format below that contains all links and information. 

At last, a Republican speaks out on behalf of immigrants-- and finds himself embroiled in the racist sentiments of the rest of the GOP. While Rick Perry and Dream Activists may disagree on most things, we can all come to a consensus that papers shouldn’t matter when it comes to pursuing education of any type. Perry’s ardent defense of House Bill 1403 comes ten years after the Texas Legislature voted overwhelmingly (there were 4 nays) to allow undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public universities,. Since then, nine states have followed suit and enabled thousands of Dreamers to get a little bit closer to their dreams.

In Texas alone, more than 14,000 students benefit from in-state residency. Undocumented students contribute over $9 million out-of-pocket in educational costs a year, a stream of funding that would abruptly turn into a trickle if we got rid of in-state tuition. More importantly, local Dream Acts have been proven to raise the high school graduation rates of immigrant communities wherever they are enacted. Primary education is a constitutional right regardless of immigration status and it makes no financial or political sense to force a child to squash their dreams after high school graduation.

While Republican presidential hopefuls aim to garner votes by asking who can be tougher on immigrants, Perry has taken the rightful stand to support education and opportunity for generations of students who have had no control over their lives. Despite supporting coercive community policing and legislation that would end sanctuary cities, Perry understands the importance of the immigrants to this country: the so-called Texas Miracle Economy he has been banking on is actually the result of low-wage jobs going to immigrants (four out of every ten to an undocumented person). Texas has been, for once, on the progressive end of things in an era where states like Alabama are asking elementary school students to turn over their papers and banning undocumented students from even attending colleges. After Perry’s recent remarks, state politicians in Texas pledged to overturn HB 1403 in 2013.

To them, Dreamers around the state have only one thing to say: we’re ready. We successfully preserved the law after an onslaught of dozens of xenophobic bills during the 2011 Session and are inching towards the national Dream Act. Allowing children to go to school is never a crime or a burden-- it is an obligation of every person in society if they want to see their communities flourish. Educational access is also not the last step of the process, as many HB 1403 students graduate with pharmacy and engineering degrees, training in cosmetology and aviation mechanics, only to be denied a licence to work. Politicians berating Perry for his ‘soft’ stance on immigrants are only a testament to the warped logic of racism and xenophobia: if denying people an education is your rallying cry, you might want to rethink your politics.

by Daniel Olvera

Last Sunday, September 25th in Austin, Texas, ULI celebrated the 10-year anniversary of HB 1403/SB 1528 law, colloquially known as the Texas DREAM Act, by hosting a Fundraiser Concert whose sole purpose was to raise funds for the first-ever ULI scholarship program. The concert was a complete success in that regards, with more than 100 invitees showing up, among them people who were instrumental in the passage of the law that has benefitted so many of us and to whom we owe gratitude, people such as Rick Noriega, Domingo Garcia, Linda Christofilis, David Johnson, Father Bill Davis, and Barbara Hines.