by Kemi
Help Texas Dream Activists Reach the California Youth Training!
December 29, 2009 in Action Alert, DREAM Act Students, News Article, Student Activism by Kemi
Dear Friends,
We are writing to ask you for our support in an endeavor we feel will benefit you and other immigrant advocates in the state of Texas.
The new year is upon us and we are very excited for what this coming year will bring in regards to immigration reform. We were recently invited by the National DREAM Act organizers to bring several of our Texas leaders to Los Angeles for a training that is being hosted for immigrant youth across the country.
These organizers realized Texas was not one of the states hosting a training and so they have offered to train the leaders, who will then come back to host a Texas DREAM Camp!
Only two weeks ago, on December 14th, a lawsuit was filed by the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas, challenging the in-state tuition provision provided by HB 1403 that allows many of us the opportunity to pursue higher education. Note that each of us planning this trip is either currently enrolled in a community college or university, or already hold a degree from a university here in Texas, so this challenge directly affects all of us.
If we want to defeat this lawsuit as well and defend our in-state tuition, as well as participate more in the fight for the passage of the DREAM Act and CIR, then our participation in this training provides an excellent first step.
Our goal is to arm ourselves with the tools, knowledge and resources these trainings have to offer, and then come back to our state and work towards hosting our own Texas DREAM Camp within the next six months, in order to arm all of our Texas Dream Activists with similar tools and knowledge.
We are really excited to be given this opportunity, but we realize if we want to make this happen we need to work fast. First we need your help so we can make it to Los Angeles!
Through DreamActivist, we are raising money to support our travel costs to and from this training. We greatly appreciate any help in this regards, whether that comes through making a donation to us, or forwarding this to others who may be able to donate or spread the word.
For more information about those planning this trip or to make a donation, please scroll down.
To learn more about the Youth Trainings, or to register to attend, visit: Youth Trainings
For more information on the current Dream Act movement in Texas, visit: The Texas Dream Act Alliance
With your help, we know we can make our dreams, and therefore the dreams of all Texas DREAMers, a reality.
To donate to this trip, see below.
Thank you for your time.
Meet your Texas Dream Activists:
*Julieta (Austin and Dallas)
I am a proud University of Texas graduate. I co-founded the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) at UT Austin in 2005 and I am currently the DREAM Act Campaign Director. ULI has arduously worked on the DREAM Act and the promotion of higher education for all since the inception of our organization.
We are very excited about the Youth Trainings and hope that holding a Dream Camp in the Lone Star state will take our state advocacy to a new level of activism. I hope to attend the California training to ensure that the Texas team is ready to make some noise and make sure our activism is as effective, coordinated and strong as it can ever be. Please help me make a difference for Texas DREAM advocates and our immigrant community. Donate to our cause.
*Benita (San Antonio)
My name is Benita Veliz and I am from San Antonio, TX. I was a silent advocate for the DREAM Act for many years, while completing my degrees in Biology and Sociology from the Honors program at St. Mary’s University. It was not until last year, however, that I truly began to speak out and share my story about growing up as an undocumented migrant in the United States, after a routine traffic stop led to my being put in removal proceedings.
As a result of my current immigration case, I have had the opportunity to openly share my story and my passion for the DREAM Act, leading to the development of a student advocate group at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, SUDA, or Students United for the DREAM Act. It is our desire to be fully equipped to promote and advocate for the DREAM Act in Texas. We know that attending the Youth Training in California would be greatly beneficial in allowing us to become fully prepared to fight for our DREAM in our home city and state.
*Kemi (Houston)
I am a mathematics and economics double major at the University of Houston – Go Coogs! After the saddening close call of the DREAM Act in the Senate in the fall of 2007, a handful of Dreamers decided enough was enough, and I helped co-found www.dreamactivist.org. We wanted to bring together the undocumented student community, while also enabling them to speak and fight for themselves through the availability of various tool and resources.
I never could have imagined this website would grow where it is now, almost exactly two years later, or that this grassroots movement in support of the DREAM Act and CIR would become so widespread. I am so proud of the work of my fellow Dreamers and DREAM supporters, including the Texan ones I hope to make this journey with. Everyone on this page is a co-founder of the Texas Dream Act Alliance, which we created with similar goals to the community and informational role DreamActivist plays on a national scale.
I hope our collective participation in this training will enable us to strengthen the grassroots efforts on the DREAM Act and CIR here in our great state of Texas. We thank you for your support.
*Jose T. (Austin)
I am currently a student at the University of Texas at Austin and President of the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) – a student organization ready to fight for a long over-due immigration reform. Through ULI we have helped organize college students to make congressional visits at the state and national level and we are currently targeting Representatives Henry Cuellar and Chet Edwards to gain their support for the DREAM Act.
We are holding strong to our vision of having the DREAM Act pass in 2010 and attending this Youth Training in California is exactly what we as leaders in the Texas DREAM Act movement need to make this happen. Please help me get to California for the training session and I will come back with a concrete plan to better organize our state to be more in tune with the national DREAM Act movement. Thank you for your support!
*Ramiro (Dallas)
Ramiro Luna was born in Monterrey, Mexico and raised in Oak Cliff, Texas and is currently pursing a Bachelors Degree in Bilingual Education at Texas Tech University. He is a community organizer and advocate who focus much of his work on assisting undocumented students and promoting DREAM Act legislation.  As a founding member of the Texas DREAM Act Coalition, he has led and assisted in numerous initiatives for the DREAM Act.
Ramiro’s advocacy has also led to several visits to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress for the DREAM Act. His current project consists of co-directing a merger between Dreamactivist.org, dreamact2009.com and Dreamact.com as they innovate the National DREAM Act Petition.
*Cesar (Houston)
My name is Cesar Espinosa and I am currently a Political Science Major at the University of Houston. The beginning of my activism came as an accident. In 2001, I needed volunteer hours to graduate from High School and I met the director of a local organization fighting for the rights of Salvadoran Migrants. I finished my 100 hours in two weeks and was so compelled by the stories and the struggle these people were facing that I decided to keep volunteering.
As my experience grew so did my passion. I have been involved in the fight for the DREAM Act and CIR since 2001 and will continue to be engaged until we get a law passed that gives people a fair shot at the American Dream.
I am Co-Founder of FIEL ( Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la lucha), Executive Director of Houston’s America For All, and Spokesperson for CRECEN. I helped establish the Houston DREAM Act Coalition and the Coalition in Defense of the Community. All this with a simple goal in mind – to bring voice to those who sometimes feel voiceless and to continue to fight for just laws for all people regardless of immigration status.
