It is imperative that we take an ethical stand and change the way that we treat and live with undocumented immigrants.  The time has come where all of us must understand how personal ignorance, political misrepresentations, and social misconceptions are pivotal parts of the everyday injustices displaced people, immigrants, and refuges must bear.  Nevertheless, we must also recognize that youth-led initiatives are fundamental to the solution: for example, students across Florida and the United states are organizing to end the oppressive and dehumanizing conditions faced by immigrants and to extend educational accessibility for ALL, including undocumented and/or underprivileged youth.

In Florida, for the last three years, youth organizers working for immigrant rights have started to form statewide coalitions and bonds of solidarity. Together we are formulating serious strategies and are working to create a substantial impact in all of our lives. With these types of collaborative organizations, Florida youth have been decisively and prolifically acting out to alleviate immigrants’ struggles to get documentations, to get educated, to earn a living, respect and dignity form others, and to be heard, understood, and loved.

The DREAM:

Florida youth have realized that our struggles for immigrants’ rights and educational accessibility are part of a larger human rights movement.  We understand that undocumented youth do not simply need to get educated; as human beings, we all need to feel as if we are part of a community.  Thus, we are working to create inclusive communities, where we allow and encourage ALL PEOPLE to get educated, to find jobs and housing, to be safe and secure, and to be free from harassment or oppression. We realized that as youth we have the power to address community struggles to improve our situations and the situations of our families and neighbors and to shape and be part of working, sustainable, and ethical communities.

Hence, with all of our efforts, we are hoping to aid the realization of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “DREAM” so that we can truly create integrated communities were youth of different colors and backgrounds can hold hands with one another and be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  And, we strive to create communities so that exploitation, ignorance, and segregation are not tolerated.

Florida Youth Have A Solid Plan:

Florida youth organizers have taken part/organized/facilitated statewide summits, workshops, conferences, networks, and coalitions. With these intricate networks and innovative collective efforts we have begun a serious movement.  For example, some of our groups with several chapters throughout Florida such as S.W.E.R, Students Working For Equal Rights, and CHISPAS, a youth led immigrants’ right initiative from the University of Florida, have partnered with other youth/student led groups to enact a critical plan: we are using direct-action escalation methods to win our statewide/national objectives.

In September 11-13 about a 160 or more young leaders from Florida met in Orlando and participated in a youth summit.  There we learned how to relate our struggles, connect our efforts, and understand and help each other’s campaigns. This youth summit sparked a statewide chain of events to demand from our legislators the final enactment of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act.  Following this momentum, several groups held several successful events on September 23^rd for the DREAM Act Day of Action. With these efforts, we were able to persuade at least two school Presidents, and various student-body representatives, teachers, and administrators to become our allies. Next, on October 19^th, we will be putting on several events to demand Education Not Deportation around our state.  With these events we are hoping to mobilize and expand our capacity; to teach more people in our schools and in our communities about our cause; to demand from our local sheriffs, legislatures, and school administrators justice for undocumented immigrants/youth; to celebrate our incredible victories; and to join our education campaign with our larger human rights/immigrants rights struggles. Finally, all these efforts will culminate on January 15^th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when we will partner with other immigrants’ right groups around the country to have mass mobilizations for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and justice for ALL.

Be on the Look Out on October 19^th “Education NOT Deportation” for the Following Actions, and JOIN US!:

Gainesville: (CHISPAS):  Showing the movie “Papers” and holding a discussion.

St. Thomas U.: Town Hall

South Florida: Protest in front of Broward Transitional Center
Check out more of the event here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=175315228011&index=1

Palm Beach Community College: Forum at PBCC and protest in front of Broward Transitional Center.

Lakeland: Rally in front of Florida Southern College at Lake Hollingsworth
Check out the event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150280463822&ref=ts

Manatee/Sarasota S.W.E.R.: Holding a College Entrance Party/Theater of the Oppressed; and holding an informal forum to educate our community about educational and enforcement issues faced by immigrants.