by: 
acerrud
acerrudFriday, December 3, 2010 at 4:20:00 PM EST
Facebook
Hey there Fellow Activist,
By now, I hope you all have heard about the DREAM Act. If you haven’t, check out the wonderful folks at Dream Act Info (http://dreamact.info/ ) for more information. In a nutshell however, the DREAM Act is a bill that would give undocumented students a pathway to citizenship if they go to college or the military.
I want to share an email that I received from someone I know. This person is a friend of a friend who happens to be a friend on Facebook and wrote this message to me in response to a link I had posted about the DREAM Act.
“Hey I know this may seem odd that you get a message from me but I would just like to thank you for your posts. I don't think many people know what it's like for undocumented Latinos out there. When I hear anything it's mostly making fun of them, when in actuality it's something really serious. It’s serious to me because most people even close to me in my life don't know that I'm illegal.Now, you may ask yourself, why is this important, why should we care? Well, as our woderful Advocates Staff Sarah Audelo has pointed out, many of our fellow sexual & reproductive health activists are potential beneficiaries of this law. If you were at Advocates Urban Retreat, you met some there. You may have not known they were there, but we were…
You know, one time I told a friend about my situation and their response was "but you’re like....smart! And you don't have the ghetto accent." I was so offended!
My parents came here when I was three. It's been hard for me because I've had to deal w this on my own when I didn't choose it. I think that's what people don't understand and have no heart towards. I didn't come here to take anything from nobody. I'm not a criminal in anyway and a lot of young people in my situation fall into that and I haven't and still I feel treated or labeled for something I never asked for. Anyway...I don't wanna get started cus it is a very sensitive subject for me. I just wanted to say thanks for taking an interest and for sharing things most would turn their backs on.
Many folks who I’ve talked to about the DREAM have a hard time understanding how this bill relates to them, how this piece of legislation impacts them. Well, I think this letter illustrates just that. This person who emailed me did so out of the total blue. Up until the point she emailed me, I HAD NO IDEA of her situation as an undocumented person. It goes to show that there are countless young people out there who are in this unfortunately situation. Many could be your fellow classmates, your friends, and your fellow activist. Im proud to see Advocates for Youth take a stand in this important issue and I ask all you fellow Activist to do the same!
Click on the Take Action Banner on the top of your screen and send a message to Congress: Support the DREAM Act!
With Love
Ariel
Peer Educator
Youth Resources
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