Another unanimous city resolution for the DREAM Act from the heart of Orange County.

The City Council voted 5-0 this week to support the federal D.R.E.A.M. Act, which would also clear the way for undocumented students to get federal loans for their education. The name of the act stands for “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors.”

The city’s resolution is symbolic; the real debate over the proposed act will take place in the halls of Congress, not in Santa Ana’s City Hall. But council members said it was important to send a message not just to lawmakers, but also to the young people of Santa Ana.

“We believe in you,” Councilman David Benavides said. “We stand with you.”

The DREAM Act would allow students who are here illegally to apply for legal permanent resident status, protect them from deportation and make them eligible for student loans and federal work study programs.

Most of Orange County’s Congress members have said they would vote against the measure if it comes to the floor for a vote. Only Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, has said she would vote for it; but she has not put her name behind the bill as a co-sponsor.

The bill was sent to committees in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives; no votes are currently scheduled.

Santa Ana’s resolution may carry added weight because the city has more residents of Hispanic heritage, as a percent of its population, than any other city with at least 300,000 people except El Paso, Texas. About 78.5 percent of Santa Ana residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to the latest Census estimates.

About a dozen people – many of them students – came to the City Council meeting on Monday evening to urge support for the DREAM Act. Several invoked one of the city’s mottoes: “Education First.”

H/T – Orange County DREAM Team

The organizers at Orange County DREAM Team are holding a youth leadership conference on August 1 in conjunction with the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). This event will be taking place on Saturday, August 1st 2009, at UFCW Local 324: 8530 Stanton Avenue, Buena Park, CA. 90620

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