JULY 1: American Council of Education endorses DREAM

Educational organizations representing college personnel, research libraries, Native Americans, college athletics, university professors, admissions officers, and many many more signed on to a letter organized by their umbrella coalition: the American Council of Education. DreamActivist covered it here.

JULY 2: Walter’s deportation deferred

Walter Lara speaks:

JULY 8: Council on Foreign Relations endorses DREAM Act, CIR

They said:

Earned legalization: The Task Force favors a policy of earned legalization, not amnesty, for many of the illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. The DREAM Act, reintroduced in the 111th Congress, provides the right model by requiring that young people without status who wish to remain in the United States must attend college or perform military service and demonstrate good moral character in order to earn their eligibility for permanent residence.

We wrote:

While we don’t agree with many of the recommendations to fund more 287(g) programs (hence allocate more state and local law enforcement resources towards cracking down on non-criminal behavior) and provide for a border wall that does not work, the Council’s endorsement of the DREAM Act is a step in the right direction.

JULY 10: Congressman Polis shouts out Dream Activism during House speech

On the heels of the victory for Walter’s case, Congressman Jared Polis from Colorado’s 2nd District, mentioned the calls made to Napolitano during his speech urging action for the DREAM Act:

JULY 24: Taha receives deferred action

A much-shorter campaign but effective nonetheless, New Jersey DREAM student Taha was granted deferred action by an immigration judge. Like the other cases, a temporary reprieve – but an opportunity for us to stand together once again.

AUGUST 3: DREAM Act student in NBC News

Images of rural Missouri, our DREAM graduation, and the struggle of an outstanding dreamer Now Guzman. The story is here.

AUGUST 6: Campus Progress covers the Dreamers

AUGUST 14: DreamActivist presents at Netroots Nation

As part of the “Case Studies for Civil Rights/ Pro-Migrant Bloggers”, Prerna presented on how undocumented students have used social media tools to build support for their cause.

AUGUST 15: Tour De Dreams starts in Los Angeles

California Dreamers biked 511 miles from Los Angeles to Berkeley to raise awareness and build support for the DREAM Act.

AUGUST 19: Herta’s deportation case comes to the forefront

A soft-spoken Albanian student from Michigan became an unlikely hero for many of us as she voiced her own need for immigration reform and the DREAM Act. The extensive coverage of her case can still be found here.

AUGUST 20: Dreamer Tam Tran speaks at the American Sociological Association

Tam, who testified in congress for the DREAM Act during the 2007 legislative session, continued her advocacy in a different forum: the academic world. As a graduate student from Brown University, Tam represented us well at the conference opening plenary titled Building Excellent, Diverse, and Just Communities: A Conversation Among Artists, Academics, and Activists.

AUGUST 28: Mother Jones Magazine honors Dream student activism

The yearly Hellraisers awards were given out by Mother Jones, honoring youth-led initiatives that made an impact. Reflecting on the accolade, we honored a historical figure of immigrant-led activism, Mother Jones herself.