On behalf of the University Leadership Initiative (ULI), State Representative Eddie Rodriguez, and us at UlI, it is our
pleasure to invite you to support Austin’s Citizenship Drive, scheduled for Saturday, February 4th, 2012 from
9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The workshop will be held at William B. Travis High School located at 1211 E. Oltorf St.
in the city of Austin, TX.

The goal of this workshop is to assist 300 eligible legal permanent residents with the U.S. Citizenship application
process. At the Drive, over 150 community volunteers will provide applicants with one-on-one form completion
assistance and attorneys who specialize in immigration law will review the completed applications to ensure
accuracy. Additionally, adjudication officers form the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will be
onsite to answer questions during the process.

To make this effort possible, we are seeking support from local businesses to champion the dreams of the eligible
persons to become full participating members of our community.We would be happy to provide additional information to better guide your decision. You may call ULI at (512) 703-0228 or via e-mail at atxcitizenship2012@gmail.com. Once again, thank you for your consideration.

-- University Leadership Initiative

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

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.

Indeed, the concert was a celebration of initiative and leadership: The Leadership and Initiative that it took to bring HB 1403 into a reality, a reality to which we, the DREAMers of Texas should be thankful for. Thankful because we are privileged, Thankful because our struggles are not so insurmountable, Thankful because we have the opportunity to receive a higher education, a privilege some our brothers in other states are barred from obtaining because of their lack of status. The Concert was in a sense a way for Texas DREAMers to say thanks to those directly responsible for our education and everything we have formed and created because of it.

The Concert celebration came a few days before Rick Perry came under heavy conservative criticism because of the fact that he signed HB 1403 into law and after a Legislative session that was notorious for its anti-immigrant fervor and several attempts to get rid of it. Although the political climate at the national level towards the immigrant community is hostile at best, such a celebration held by DREAMers to celebrate the anniversary of the law and those responsible for it was a way to transcend politics for once and to focus on what really matters: the students who are benefitted by the law and the people whose dreams were to provide us the opportunity to realize ours. Words will never be able to describe the gratitude and love I feel towards Rick Noriega and company, for giving me the opportunity to find myself, to get educated, to make life-long friendships that have enriched my life and my soul, to find a purpose in my life and to realize so many of my dreams. The only way to pay back is to continue the struggle, not just for the DREAM Act but also for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, equality, justice, and to fight for our communities and everything we set our minds to, to never stop and to continue with the fervor that Rick and friends had and continue to have.

I am very grateful to be a part of a movement that is changing the world one brick at a time, but for a brief second lets forget about the strife and struggles that await us and lets celebrate what is good in life: Happy 10th Anniversary everybody. 

Click the flyer for the FB event page. Here is our earlier post about it.

Well, not to our surprise Hilda Solis talked about the "New Jobs Act" stressing that this act would put more teachers to work, it would provide money for workers to become educated in their fields, it would provide small businesses with tax cuts if they hire 50 employees or more, it would allow people to stay in their foreclosed homes and so on.She said that these are difficult times at the White House because Obama has had to fix the mess that the previous president got us in; starting with all of the job loss'. She also reminded us of her background. Her parents are both from Central America. They came to The U.S in hopes of a better life. Her father was a brazero in California. Her mother worked in an assembly line once all of the 7 children were of school age. Hilda's parents were a great and big influence in her career chosing, for they were activists of safety and protection for employees. 

She says that her goal is to implement the laws that are already in place instead of creating new ones. 
 
When we got down to the Immigration issue she said that she is trying to work with more reachable assosiations. She emphasized that if the people speak up to organizations that there's no way that she wont be able to hear it. 

She also spoke about bringing back the U-Visa for workers. The U-Visa is a legal permit to allow an immigrant that has been abused to stay in The U.S while their legal status is being worked on. She has also been able to work with more authority than ICE regarding immigrant investigations. She realizes that farmer labor workforce  relies heavily on undocumented workers because they reduce costs, and will not assert their rights. Solis has re-done regulations for the transportation of immigrants willing, by giving them the necessary information about their rights once in The U.S. Another topic was also Secure Communities; which is the shared fingerprinting database between FBI, ICE, and DHS. Her goal is to get this order revised. And she encourages the people to convey their thoughts about this to the white house.

NOW, REGARDING THE DREAM ACT :
First off, she wanted to stress that not all of the power to make changes and laws happen eminate from The White House. She also stressed that there's many people that are against it and they are also doing their best to get their work done. As an example she posed e-verify. Solis KNOWS that the recipients of the Dream Act are all people that will bring "Improvement" to the communities. These recipients are also "Entreprenuers and Leaders." So we the Dreamers and the Supporters have to take it out to our opponents and do our best to convince them about why this law is more than great.

Later, she emphasized that we have to make sure that our own latino people arent embezelling the community out of their money by promising legal counsil. We all need to be very careful when looking for any type of legal advice because many people, most sadly with-in our own communities, scam the people from their money, by promising something that is not true or liable to happen. "Good counsil is supposed to lead you to good standing," she said. Lastly, she spoke about the Policy Making Process.

She wanted to make clear to us that we have to articulate to representatives, contact key advisors, talk to people in organizations that will relay our feelings and thoughts of a future policy. The whole Policy Making Process is supposed to ensure that the president knows that a view is being widely supported by the community. SO ONCE AGAIN she tells us to SPEAK UP! 
Her last remarks were to emphasize that she knows and speaks to the president, so we can always send our messages to her and she will pass them along. She IS our FRIEND and will always try to aid us! 

So there you go folks. That's all the talk that went on at the conversation. Actually, there was a lot more but these were the impacting and the most important subjects.