Cristina Jimenez
Immigrant Youth Ready to Hold the New Administration Accountable
In the months before the presidential election, Sandra, an undocumented college student, worked tirelessly to register new voters and mobilize her community to vote. Like her, thousands of immigrant and non-immigrant youth across the country supported president-elect Barrack Obama.
Youth voted for president-elect Obama in hope of a new direction and a renewed American Dream. An American Dream that includes affordable and equal access to higher education for all.
Access to higher education is one of the most pressing obstacles faced by Sandra and thousands of undocumented immigrant youth. But this didn’t stop them from organizing, educating and mobilizing their communities to vote.
Sandra and her friends supported president-elect Obama not only because he embodied new leadership, but because he said the DREAM Act was one his immediate priorities. In the Democratic Debate in Austin, Texas, the president-elect said:
“Something that we can do immediately that I think is very important is to pass the DREAM Act, which allows children who through no fault of their own are here but have essentially grown up as Americans -- allow them the opportunity for higher education. I do not want two classes of citizens in this country. I want everybody to prosper. That's going to be a top priority.”
Today, with Barrack Obama as the new elected president, immigrant youth are reenergized and looking forward to the next administration to deliver its promises. Immigrant youth and the broader youth electorate are ready to hold the new administration accountable. Using the internet as one of their tools, immigrant youth are building a strong movement aimed at empowering, organizing youth, and holding president-elect Obama to his promises.
At Change.org, for example, immigrant youth got the DREAM Act to be one of the Ideas for Change with the most votes. As a writer from DreamActivist says:
“We must continue to support each other and grow together as a movement if we want to win our Dreams, and together we can and we will.”
Cristina Jimenez: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 11:58 AM, Dec 09, 2008 in
Immigration
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