On October 19, 2009, Florida youth organized coordinated actions to raise awareness of their END campaign which stands for Education Not Deportation. This campaign seeks:

• An END to the unjust criminalization of youth! Including undocumented and non-citizen youth with no criminal record that are only trying to go to college and further their careers.
• An END to the wasteful spending in our government going to the construction of prisons and detention centers while our educational system continues to deteriorate and suffer.
• An END to the deportations of American DREAMers! (DREAM Act beneficiaries)

In Gainesville, the Coalition of Hispanics Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service (CHISPAS) –a group that caters to the needs of the Hispanic-Latino Immigrant population in Gainesville and at the University of Florida- held a viewing of the film “Papers” which tells the story of undocumented youth struggling in immigration limbo while striving to realize their dreams*.

http://papersthemovie.com/

In Sarasota, the New College SWER chapter held a forum that engaged 75 students to a discussion about the struggles facing immigrants, the criminalization of people of color, and the critical need for immigration reform. The New College SWER chapter was also extremely successful in getting a written endorsement from the college President in support of the DREAM Act and a commitment to be a champion for immigration reform in the Sarasota region.

Gordon Michalson, President of New College states:

“The DREAM Act is a good thing for higher education and a significant step on behalf of basic principles of fairness and justice. The result would be more people achieving their educational goals, as well as the economic advancement of their families and the strengthening of the social fabric. Indeed, rectifying the injustices done to immigrants in the educational sphere is a natural first step in fixing our broken immigration laws and assuring equal opportunity for all in this nation of immigrants.”

In Miami, Dr. Gina Cortez-Suarez, the Campus President of Miami Dade College InterAmerican also affirmed:

“Miami Dade College opened its doors in 1960 amid the transition of desegregation and the influx of thousands of refugees. We know first-hand that opportunity changes everything. MDC has prided itself for opening doors to those with a dream of a better tomorrow through education, merit, hard work, and service.”

In Lakeland, other youth organizers had a forum and in Palm Beach Community College, the SWER chapter held a discussion panel with speakers from various nonprofits as well as an immigration attorney.

From this panel discussion in Palm Beach, in solidarity with SWER chapters from all across the south Florida region, nearly 150 student leaders converged at the Broward Transitional Center which currently holds various DREAMers awaiting deportation. The SWER chapters set up a classroom outside this detention center while wearing “Undocumented” shirts and addressing various media networks about the injustice of youth detention as well as the moral and economic cost of locking up innocent youth that aught to be in college.

View more of this action here:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=71634578-849b-4bcd-861c-0819ea4d1af3&src=front

As a follow up to this action, several of these groups coordinated simultaneous Call-In actions to the office of Florida Senator George Lemieux on Wednesday, October 21^st to urge him to become more active in the progress of the DREAM Act by having someone from his office participate in the congressional briefing on DREAM that took place on October 23^rd.

Most recently, the Palm Beach SWER chapter also held its own viewing of the film “Papers” and was able to get more than 120 students to attend.

Our commitment in Florida is to continue strengthening our statewide youth network and to uphold the voice and impact of youth power in the social justice endeavors of our communities. We are here as brother’s and sisters in the struggle for just and humane treatment of all. We fight to demand our right to our education, to end the raids and deportations, and to do everything we can and must do to ensure that we can all succeed in passing the federal DREAM Act!

WWW.SWER.ORG