Two weeks after first being introduced, the University of Michigan student assembly passed a resolution in support of the DREAM Act. The final vote was 17 in favor and 5 against, with 10 people abstaining.

The only opposition voiced against this resolution came from a member who had the following concerns:

1. This doesn’t relate to students;
2. This is actually taking money away from other students;
3. The age cap is 35 and so this doesn’t affect ‘children’; and
4. We don’t know what we are voting on as this bill could change in congress.

As you can see, not any real opposition to this just the typical nativist speak for ‘illegal is illegal’, even though a student and many advocates testified as to each of these points.

Story from the Daily can be found here:

At its weekly meeting last night, the Michigan Student Assembly passed a resolution supporting a federal DREAM Act in a vote of 17-5-10. It was authored by Rackham Rep. Kate Stenvig and LSA Rep. Robby Saldaña.

The resolution includes supporting a march for the act that will be held on May 1 in southwest Detroit. The march will begin in Patton Memorial Park at 10 a.m. and end at Clark Park with a rally at noon. Organizations contributing to the march and rally include Migrant and Immigrant Rights Awareness, By Any Means Necessary and Latinos Unidos/United de Michigan.

“Many of these (undocumented immigrants) have attended U.S. schools for most of their lives, but their immigration status bars them from opportunities that make a college education affordable, including in-state tuition rates, loans and grants, most private scholarships and the ability to work legally,” the resolution reads.

The resolution states that MSA will send a copy of the resolution to President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, The Michigan Daily, The Ann Arbor News and the Detroit Free Press.

Several supporters of the DREAM Act addressed the assembly about the issue at both last night’s and last week’s meetings, encouraging representatives to vote in favor of the resolution.

Let us know how we can help you get a similar resolution passed at your school.