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On Monday, June 4th, our umbrella organization, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, released the following statement in a press release:
“The National Immigrant Youth Alliance is calling for the President to issue an executive order to stop the deportation of DREAM Act-eligible youth. We simply cannot continue to allow our lives to be held up by petty partisanship and congressional gridlock.
We need the strength of an executive order to stop our deportations. Prosecutorial discretion has not stopped them; NIYA has continued to fight tooth and nail for many young people who meet the criteria to have their cases administratively closed under the June 17 Morton Memo. At present, NIYA is fighting over 30 active cases that meet these criteria..”
“..We hope that our call for an executive order has not fallen on deaf ears in the White House. If the Administration does not issue an executive order, we will be forced to respond with direct action in the coming days. The administration, by not taking action by means fully within its power, keeps our lives on hold. That position, for us, is no longer acceptable.”
image by J. Valas
As of today, the president has yet to file such executive order. We will not be ignored.
Sample Tweet: Sign the petition! http://action.dreamactivist.org/execorder. Tell Barack Obama to file an executive order to stop the deportation of DREAM Act youth!
image by Justin Valas
Watch LIVE now! And tell President Obama that it’s time he use his executive authority to halt the deportations of Dream Act – eligible youth!
Take a minute to get to know the other folks who were arrested in Georgia. They come from different parts of the country, but all stood up against the same injustice together.
[NOTE: The Georgia 7 have been released and we are no longer collecting bail money. Thank you for those who have shown your support.]
Georgina | Viridiana | Jose Rico | Dayanna | Maria | Andrea | David
ATLANTA—Two young undocumented North Carolina residents who participated in a sit-in today on the campus of Georgia State University have been arrested and taken to an area jail. Atlanta participates in the Secure Communities program, which makes the risk of detainment and deportation high.
“I’m doing this because our communities are living in fear,” said Jose Rico, one of two sit-in participants from North Carolina. “51,000 undocumented youth had their dreams torn apart when our senators voted against the DREAM Act. They are trying to criminalize our existence.”
Rico is a student at Wake Tech in Raleigh who plans to transfer to NC State University. After excelling in high school being accepted to numerous colleges, Rico could not afford to go to school because of the out-of-state tuition that undocumented students are required to pay. Rico plans to stay in North Carolina and become an engineer.
Georgia, like North Carolina, is considering banning undocumented students from attending public colleges and universities. Georgia has already banned attendance at its top-tier institutions. Two bills in the NC General Assembly, HB 11 and HB 343, would close the doors to immigrants on higher education. Both bills, along with others, have been introduced by Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow).
Viridiana Martinez, the other sit-in participant from North Carolina, has spoken to Cleveland personally.
“He doesn’t understand that he’s hurting people,” Martinez said. “These people are North Carolinians who love this state as much as he does.”
By participating in this sit-in, Martinez and Rico risk arrest and deportation. However, lobbying and political campaigns have yet to deliver federal reform.
“Rallying and protesting are no longer enough,” Martinez said. “Remaining in the shadows is no longer acceptable.”
