Some Duke students have been working to raise support for an act aimed to help undocumented students acquire American citizenship that was blocked by the U.S. Senate Tuesday.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was designed to also help undocumented students eventually become eligible for financial aid after becoming naturalized citizens.
Under the bill, students who had lived in the U.S. for at least five years before turning 16 could become legal citizens after graduating high school and finishing two years of college or military enrollment.
The DREAM Act was attached to the repeal of the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the armed forces, which some thought lessened its chances of passing through the Senate.
Despite its shortcomings Tuesday, there may still be a chance that the DREAM Act could pass because the Senate blocked the bill on which the act was attached but not the act itself. Now, Senator Dick Durbin, Ill.-D, has declared the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill.
Junior Michelle Villegas, a member of Duke Students for Humane Borders, said because of the other issues on the bill, like the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, she had not been optimistic for it to pass.
“But I think eventually it will [pass],” Villegas said. “Elections are coming up, just vote the right people in.”
On campus, students have participated in various activities to support the bill and to promote education on the subject. This semester, DSHB, a student group particularly interested in the DREAM Act, hosted “die-ins” on the Bryan Center Plaza and in the Marketplace in which they staged deaths and wore signs on their clothes explaining the act. Villegas said she thinks a college campus should be especially open to the DREAM Act.
“The reason we chose die-ins for our demonstrations was because every year that passes without the DREAM Act results in the ‘death’ of certain [undocumented] students’ dreams and goals,” Villegas wrote in an e-mail.
Die-ins involve participants lying on the ground at the sound of a whistle, which organizers said would catch the attention of passersby. Those passing by would stop and listen to a speech participants gave along with the die-in.
“We’ve been trying to explain to people that the bill is more about education than anything else,” Villegas said. “We’re on a college campus so people can relate to that.”
The act was designed to increase education options for illegal students by developing opportunities to obtain college degrees and high-paying jobs. Those opposed to the bill feared that by passing the legislation, the government would be encouraging illegal immigration instead of combating it.
Despite those objections, Villegas said the die-ins were an effective way to attract attention to the issue. She said DSHB had spoken with students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill so that both schools would host die-ins promoting the act on the same day.
Senior Irene Falk, another member of DSHB, said she thought the passing of the DREAM Act would be a key step in providing support for immigrant families.
“There’s a lot of vulnerability in undocumented communities and a lack of systemic support, and the only way to build for that is to have voices in that community, and that happens through education,” Falk said.
Senior Sam Savitz, another advocate of the act, said his DukeEngage experience in Tucson, Ariz. opened his eyes to the issues regarding illegal immigrants. He said he thought educating people on what the bill entails would be the best means to see it succeed.
“I think there are a lot of Duke students who are in support of [the DREAM Act] but don’t realize that there’s a lot they can do for it,” he said. “It’s an uphill battle, but I think its still worth fighting for. If you just give up in the face of everything that might be a challenge, nothing will ever get done.”
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