Welcome to the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project's blog! Our blog is a way for us to connect with students and quickly inform you of educational opportunities particular to Latino students in Washington state. This blog will feature guest LEAPster who will write about their leadership experiences with LEAP. They will answer questions and provide advice.

This space is also open to showcasing your poems, videos, essays, photos, or other creative mediums. Let us know about your leadership involvement or tell us about the great work someone is doing in your school/community. For more information on LEAP, visit our website at www.leapwa.org


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Summary of Comprehensive Immigration Reform from DREAM Activist, with Special Emphasis on the DREAM Act

Today we got to participate in the DREAM Activist conference call to clarify key aspects of the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP) introduced by Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL-4) yesterday, with a special focus on the DREAM Act components. Here are a few items that were discussed

Quick summary of CIR ASAP:

Two phases to apply for legal residency
1. Temporary conditional non-immigration status. During this phase, must:
• Pay application fee (to be determined)
• Fine of $500
• Complete background check by DHS
o Once cleared, DHS will provide a work authorization and travel permission
• No serious crimes committed by applicant
2. Adjustment to status
• Prove contributions to community with evidence, such as paid taxes
• Must wait 6 years after enactment of CIR ASAP to achieve residency.
• Once given permanence residency, must wait 5 years before can apply for citizenship.

How is this the same or different for DREAM Act students?
Much of the requirements are the same as the current stand alone DREAM Act bill:
• Brought to US before the age of 16
• Have lived in the US for 5 yrs
• Be of good moral character
During the second phase of legalization, students will need to have completed:
• A 2-year degree
• 2 years of a 4 year degree
• Serve 2 years in the military; and what is new
• Have been employed 2 years before the enactment of CIR ASAP
DREAMers will not be required to pay the $500 fine and can apply for their citizenship 3 years after receiving permanent residency.

My only question here would be, what would be considered employment for students, what type of documents do they need to prove they were employed and finally, will their employers be faced with a fine for hiring the students?

Some of the questions submitted by participants of the conference call.

What happens to students who are already in grad school or already in college?
They will have to apply for conditional non immigrant status like everyone else. As soon as they enter the second phase, can apply for permanent residency because already have 2 yr of 4 yr degree.

Can you give example and timing applying for residency for students?
If bill is enacted – lets say it happens March 1st. Application process started in September 1st. Collect document in Phase 1, then submit more requirements in Phase 2. Toward beginning of, the application period, when biometrics are reviewed (DHS clears individual), student will be given work permission and travel. CIS clears application then make the student a conditional non-immigrant. Next step would be filing for permanent residency as soon as students meets one requirement of 2 yrs degree toward 4 year degree, 2 years in the military or 2 years of work.
January 1st 2011 soon as finish 2 year of requirements of DREAM Act, say in June 2011, student can apply for permanent residence in January 2012. 2 years later, student can apply for citizenship. It is a more accelerated process than the process for all undocumented individuals.

What does conditional non-immigrate status mean?
It might mean – Non-immigrant status is someone who is given temporary residence like a tourist or student visa, professional visa. Conditional immigration is someone who has an expired visa. People who fall under CIR ASAP are not given regular non-immigrant status but calling it conditional because still have to show other requirements in the future.

For students who face deportation, how does it affect them?
If someone is in removal proceeding, there is no difference. But if student receives a removal order before the age of 16, student would still be eligible under the DREAM Act provision. Prior deportation order does not affect student to apply for legalization.

Summary and answers were provided by Mark Silverman, Director of Immigration Policy, Immigrant Legal Resource Center. If there are any burning questions you have, please respond to this post and we will try to find the answer to your question.

LEAP


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Monday, December 14, 2009

Design the new 2010 DREAM Act Postcard

DreamActivist has announced its "I have a DREAM" Postcard Contest," where they are asking individuals to design their 2010 DREAM Act Postcard.

Follow the link below for more details:

www.dreamactivist.org/postcard/

Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act will be reintroduced on Tuesday, Dec. 15th by Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL-3).

Many have asked us, what does this mean for the DREAM Act?
LEAP supports the DREAM Act as a stand alone bill but is very interested how CIRA will affect the DREAM Act. We will be participating in the call hosted by the DREAM Activist tomorrow at 3 PM to get clarification on key aspects of the CIRA.

If you would like to listen to this conversation, click below to sign up to get the call-in information and submit your questions to the representatives of DREAM Activist. http://action.dreamactivist.org/cir_call. Space is limited so RSVP ASAP to reserve your place on this call.

Also, take a moment to listen to NPR segment on the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act from July 2009. It raises some interesting questions and opinions.



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Monday, December 7, 2009

Prestigious Scholarship Awarded to Manuel Garcia


We at LEAP are very proud of our LEAPster from Mount Vernon, Manuel Garcia, for being selected for admission to Washington and Lee University with a QuestBridge College Match scholarship. This wonderful scholarship will provide Manuel with up to $40,000 per year and it will cover the full cost of his room and board.

There were 267 finalists matched with QuestBridge College Match awards at 27 colleges, with a total of 15 students, Manuel included, admitted as Quest Scholars at Washington and Lee, a private liberal arts college in Virginia.

Once again, congratulations to Manuel for his hard work and dedication. We wish him all the luck.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Papers the Movie at UW

This last Friday I and, surprisingly a large number of LEAPsters, were present at the screening of Papers the movie at Kane Hall at the University of Washington. The movie featured an excellent set of diverse students in different parts of the country. The movie had a combination of basic information for people who were not as familiar with the topic, statistics, and interviews with the featured students, lawyers, elected officials at the state and national level, and teachers.

Following the movie, a panel of 5 were asked to comment on the movie and discuss this topic from their point of views. Those on the panel were Roberto Gonzalez, UW Professor in the School of Social Work, Jorge Alonso Chehade, a recent UW graduate from the School of Business, Sergio Salinas, President of SEIU Local 6; Siovhan Sheridan-Ayala, immigration attorney who was featured in the movie; and a pastor from the Skagit Valley whose name I did not catch.

There were 3 panelist that I found most effective. Roberto Gonazlez said students should continue their education regardless if they are unable to currently work using their degrees. He shared a story of a young student who was undocumented, who received her Masters in Teaching then received her teaching certificate and 3 days later received her work visa and shortly her permanent residency. His point was: where would you like to be when your legal status changes either due to the DREAM Act or through other methods...with a college degree ready to start your career or barely beginning your education? Jorge Alonso Chehade talked about how his family always commented on his luck and he never thought "can I go to college" but "how far can I go." He spoke of his upcoming deportation and how he plans to fight to stay in this country even in the airport terminal. Most importantly, he encouraged everyone to look at difficult situations with humor. Lastly, the pastor expressed how the most difficult event in his life was when he took 2 children to visit their mother in a detention center and were not allowed to touch her. He then challenged everyone in the audience not to be afraid of their neighbors in seeking their support for the DREAM Act and for comprehension immigration reform.

We thank all LEAPsters who had the courage to ask the panelist important questions. We at LEAP will continue in our efforts to pass the DREAM Act and HB 1706.
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

2010 LEAP Education Conference & Legislative Day



We are still in the process of planning and will have more information soon.

Hope to see you all there!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Today I met with a friend who has finished his bachelors degree; we were talking about some projects that he has going which one of those is DREAM Act. As we are having this conversation I think about what am I going to do if by when I graduate this bill has not passed. (By the way I am barely going to start college in the fall.) I somewhat discourage but at the same time I have motivation because just like my friend who is a 1079 student I see hope. Hope because I am not alone there are thousands of other students in the same situation and slowly but surely we are making progress with DREAM Act and other laws that will help these kind of students like myself.

Submitted by a LEAP student

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Dreams have been the subject of great speeches, the foundation of powerful movements, the beginning of prosperous corporations, and throughout history, to many, dreams have been the reason to live one day longer…

To me and thousands of other students, dreaming is all we have left…

This is the reality of undocumented students:

We came with our parents, who risked their lives by embarking in search of the American Dream. We grew as children of this nation, knowing this country as our home, and for many of us, this is our only home. We went to school, playing and learning with other children, hoping and dreaming about college. We graduated from high school, some of us even graduated from college, prepared to serve and work for our community. And now, we do the only thing we have left to do - we dream.

We dream because we believe that everyone deserves the right to access higher education. We dream because we know that the greatest joy of learning is to know that our education will serve others. We dream because we are not ready to give up what we believe is a human right. We dream for so many others who can’t dream and we dream because there is hope: The DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act (S. 729, H.R. 1751) is a bipartisan legislation that has the power to change the lives of thousands of students, and at the same time to improve our communities and empower the whole nation. The DREAM Act is not a free pass for undocumented students, it is an opportunity for us to prove to this nation that we are ready to serve and work for this country. We want to become social workers, business owners, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and doctors. We want to stand side by side with our neighbors to make sure that our communities prosper in these times of economic difficulty. We want to inspire new generations and push forward our nation in the face of any adversity.

For all this reasons we need the DREAM Act and we are ready to work hard to make sure that it passes this year. Now, more than ever, there is an amazing and inspiring national effort to support the DREAM Act. We are doing our part in Washington State. With the strong support of the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project (LEAP) and Alianza Student Coalition, a group of student organizations came together to work on encouraging our congressional delegation to co-sponsor and champion the DREAM Act. Our student coalition, named Education for All Committee, includes student organizations from the University of Washington, Seattle Central Community College, South Seattle Community College, Highline Community College, Seattle School District, and Highline School District.

Through our collaborative efforts we have called and sent letters to all the members of our congressional delegation. We are happy and proud that our two Senators, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, are co-sponsors of the DREAM Act. We are also glad that three of our Congressional Representatives, Rep. Jim McDermott, Rep. Adam Smith, and Rep. Rick Larsen, are co-sponsors. However, we have more work to do, there are six more congressional representatives that are yet to become co-sponsors of the DREAM Act. In addition, we also want to encourage board of trustees, board of directors, school boards, business leaders, presidents of educational institutions, and other organizations to join the long list of supporters by officially endorsing the DREAM Act.

For more information or to get involved with the group, please contact us at:
education-for-all-committee@googlegroups.com

We welcome your support and we are ready to work with you. We will continue doing our part.

Let’s keep dreaming with the hope that not far from today we will wake up in our dreams.
United we dream, united we prosper.

Luis Ortega

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

DREAM Act

Ricardo Sanchez, founder of LEAP, providing an overview of the DREAM Act to the attendees at the 2009 LEAP Education Conference & Legislative Day in Tacoma.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Introducing LEAP's new blog!

Introducing LEAP's new blog! Our blog is a way for us to connect with students by asking students to post their poems, videos, essays, etc. or letting us know what you are doing in your community.

We will be featuring guest LEAPster who will write about their experiences with LEAP and anything else they might feel you will benefit from. They will be answering question and providing advice. Please be respectful in your comments and have fun and be creative with our new blog.

If there is anything that you want us to include in our blog, let us know at info@leapwa.org. Also visit our web site at www.leapwa.org

Hasta pronto!