Eleven days ago, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) added his name to the list of senators co-sponsoring the DREAM Act (S.729).  This is by no means, a small feat for the cause, since 2 years and 1 day ago to this date, Senator Specter casted a disappointing Nay on the cloture vote* for the DREAM Act (then S.2205).  [*A procedural vote to break a filibuster against any bill]

At the time, Senator Specter had also failed to co-sponsor the S.2205 version of the DREAM Act.  Yet, this is NOT to say that the Senator HASN’T been supportive for the merits of the DREAM Act.  Quite the contrary, because on that same date, the Senator explained his position on the Senate Floor:

“I believe that the DREAM Act is a good act, and I believe that its purposes are beneficial. I think it ought to be enacted. But I have grave reservations about seeing a part of comprehensive immigration reform go forward because it weakens our position to get a comprehensive bill.”

-Arlen Specter, 24 October 2007

Senator Specter had also co-sponsored the DREAM Act previously in 2003 when it was then numbered as S.1545 in the 108^th Congress.  So one may ask, where does Senator Specter really stand today?  And how can we make sure the Senator continues to capture our attention and that we receive his full support and retain his co-sponsorship?  Well, I’ll get back to that near the end of my post.

For now I want to recognize the importance of personally lobbying our own representatives and senators by setting up legislative meetings.  So I wanted to give a timeline from my own personal perspective on what’s been happening in the past month of October, in regards to Senator Specter’s co-sponsorship.

10/05/09

The National Immigration Law Center schedules a meeting with Senator Specter’s office, in regards to asking the Senator for his Co-Sponsorship of the DREAM Act.  Personal stories are collected from undocumented students in Pennsylvania (including Maria’s and mine); in order to have them delivered to the Senators’ aides.

10/13/09

Reform Immigration for America gathers 3,000 supporters, from at least 17 states to have them rally at Washington D.C., on the day Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is set to outline the stipulations of his immigration bill.  Congressman Gutierrez mentions the DREAM Act as a key component in his legislation.  Maria and I participate in the event, riding a bus to Washington D.C. with local immigration advocates.

Luckily, we are assigned to a group that will meet with Senator Specter’s office, in order to lobby for comprehensive immigration reform.  Our group speaks with Senator Specter’s chief counsel, and right away, he notices our “I Support the DREAM Act” buttons.  He mentions how he’s been in touch with Senator Durbin’s (IL-D) immigration aide about the DREAM Act, and how he’ll soon bring up the subject with Senator Specter.

10/14/09

Senator Arlen Specter co-sponsors the DREAM Act (S.729).

10/21/09

Maria and I attend our second DreamACTivist PA meeting; we update the group about the DREAM events we attended and upcoming DREAM events.  The president of the Temple Democrats, Daniel Dunphy (a key ally creating awareness and advocating for DREAM), lets us know that Senator Specter will be at Temple the following Friday.

10/23/09

Congressional briefings are held in Washington D.C. in order to create awareness about the DREAM Act, for those Congressional aides attending.  DREAMers; Herta Llusho and Noe Guzman are two speakers at the event, representing undocumented students throughout the country.

Maria and I attend a Temple event, where Senator Specter is speaking.  At the end of the engagement, we are able to share a handshake and personally thank the Senator for his co-sponsorship.  We also deliver a thank you package, filled with DREAM Act buttons, postcards decorated with Armed Forces theme in support of the DREAM, our typed up personal stories, and as well as a formal written thank you letter for the Senator.

Once again, this is just a single viewpoint from Maria’s and mine’s perspective.  There are countless others unseen and not mentioned here, doing their own advocacy work behind the scenes, urging support for our dreams in legislative meetings, demanding our collective voices be heard at the events they attend.  Their hard work is the reason why senators such as Arlen Specter, have once again, co-sponsored DREAM.  And this is why it is imperative we continue our collective efforts in meeting with our own representatives and senators.  Once again, we would like to thank Senator Specter for his initial support for the DREAM Act with his co-sponsorship.  Next up on Maria’s and my list is Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), who voted YEA on cloture on Oct. 2007, but has yet to commit to any co-sponsorship.

As I had mentioned earlier, there has been some inconsistency about the support for the DREAM Act.  Not because of any flaws within the actual piece of legislation, but rather because of the political spider web involved with overall comprehensive immigration reform.  Senator Specter mentioned his reservations, previously.  Yet, from my own opinion, whenever that argument rears itself, we should be prepared to counter it.  It’s been 2 years since the last push for any sort of pro-immigrant legislation, and it’s been 6 years since the last time Senator Specter co-sponsored the DREAM Act.  In a period of 2 years, that’s an estimate of about 130,000 undocumented students across the United States that have graduated high school, with slim hopes of continuing onward to higher education.  And, nearly 400,000 estimated undocumented students have walked the stage and received their diploma, in between Senator Specter’s co-sponsorships.  How many of them could have joined the Armed Forces to help protect our country?  How many more must walk the line and wait?  These are the points we should remember, as we continue to keep in contact with our senators and representatives in legislative meetings.

For any questions, please direct your response to mark@dreamactivst.org or maria@dreamactivist.org