Not with high-tech businesses seeking well-educated workers.

Not with undocumented students (DREAM Act).

Not with foreign graduates from U.S. colleges and universities.

Not with the farm laborers (AgJOBS).

No, Congress wants to make it easier for supermodels to come to the United States by giving them their own visa work category.

Unable to muster the political will last year to pass comprehensive immigration reform and address the dearth of both unskilled and highly skilled labor that drags on our economy, Congress is now ready to act. Standing tall in the courage of their convictions, lawmakers are proposing to give supermodels their own category of work visa.

The full editorial featured in the LATimes can be read here.

Despite supporters of Camila Hornung and her family holding vigils and sending out letters of support to Florida Governors and Senators to stop their deportation, according to this article, the family boarded a plane back to Peru this afternoon.

A family member who had spoken to Camila's mother said the following:

"She was crying, she just let me know that she was leaving without advice. She's not suppose to speak with us, she had only one minute to speak with us by phone," said the member.

We will update you on this blog if there are any changes to this story.

Amidst the good news that Arthur Mkoyan's deportation was delayed by a private bill introduced by Senator Feinstein, another teen is facing the same dilemma.

Camila Hornung is nineteen years old and is attending Florida State University. She was brought to the United States from Peru as a young child.

A friend of Camila said the following:

"She has people here who love her so much, who would love to see her have an opportunity to have a future and an education here."

The rest of the article and a short video can be found here.

The DREAM Act may have stalled in the Senate, but that hasn't stopped students from continuing to fight for workable immigration reform. Hundreds of demonstrators, many of them high school and college students, recently marched in support for the DREAM Act in Las Vegas. It is heartening to see that undocumented students and their supporters have not lost hope, and that they are willing to continue doing whatever it takes to keep the DREAM Act in the spotlight.

I've often felt when hearing Senators, Congressmen, and even members of the media speak of the DREAM Act that they forget this isn't just an idea or issue to discuss, but that it deals with the livelihood of real people. I hope through all the politics the Senators and Congressmen do not forget that the future of thousands of students in the United States is in their hands.

Whether it is a sixteen-year-old who realized they can't apply for a driver's license, an eighteen-year-old who can't afford college tuition, or a twenty-two-year-old college graduate who cannot legally work - all these undocumented students' lives have been put on hold. The DREAM Act is about letting us reach our full potential and a chance to give back to this great country.

Arthur Mkoyan's tale is similar to all the stories of undocumented students that have been featured on this blog. Arthur has lived in the United States since the age of two, he'll be graduating high school as valedictorian in a few weeks, and he plans to attend the University of California at Davis to become a dentist or pharmacist.

Unfortunately, Arthur's dreams and plans in the country he has grown up in are being deferred. If deported, he will be returning to Armenia, a country he has no memory of.

Arthur has contacted Senator Feinstein for help. It is possible that the Senator could introduce a private bill on his behalf, which would halt the deportation proceedings.

Senator Feinstein in a prepared statement said the following:

"Arthur Mkoyan represents another reason why Congress needs to pass the Dream Act. It is in our nation's interest to provide talented students the incentive to take this path toward being responsible and law-abiding members of our society."

There are certain situations where the legal status of individuals should not come into question. The mandatory evacuation of residents because of a hurricane threat should be one of them.

In the Rio Grande Valley, Border Patrol plans to prescreen residents before letting them board on the evacuation buses. Those discovered to be undocumented will not be allowed to board the bus. Instead these undocumented individuals will be moved to safe detention centers in the state.

Evacuations are about keeping people safe and out of danger. Especially during mandatory evacuation where it is an emergency situation; it is the most inappropriate time to start asking for peoples' papers.

This policy will only create more chaos and put both residents and emergency personnel in danger, since there will be plenty of people, for fear of their loved ones being put through deportation proceedings, will ignore the evacuations orders

"I can tell you right now that 'mandatory' evacuation orders will be ignored by half the Valley-since no one will leave behind the aunt or uncle or grandmother-and certainly would not trust the Border Patrol with them," said the Rev. Michael Seifert, of San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church, in Cameron Park, Brownsville. Cameron Park is the largest colonia in the United States.

"At a time of natural disaster we would like to think that the
preservation of life is superior to whether people have paperwork. It's a case of basic humanity," said Spencer-Scheurich.

Separating families during the time of natural disaster goes against basic human values. It makes me wonder what will be next.

To read the full article click here.

Meynardo Garcia recently won a prize in a national contest sponsored by the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Hollywood.

Garcia's inspiration came from:

"...the memory of emaciated children walking the streets of his hometown inspired his drawing of the doomed children in his prize-winning piece."

Meynardo Garcia is also an undocumented student. He was brought to this country illegally at the age of 10. He is now eighteen and is fighting deportation back to Mexico. Garcia and a friend, who was also an undocumented immigrant, were stopped at a random checkpoint at the Port of Miami last August. Since neither had identification, they were taken in. Garcia's friend was deported, while Garcia was sent to a detention center in New York.

Despite being released after three weeks in the detention center, Garcia's time in the United States is ticking away. An immigration judge had granted him stay until Sept. 18^th, 2008 to allow him to find an attorney and prepare his case.

Garcia would be saved from deportation by the DREAM Act, but chances of the bill being enacted into law before his court day are very slim.

Josh Bernstein, director of federal policy for the National Immigration Law Center, is quoted in the article:

Bernstein referred to Garcia as part of the "1.5 generation" -- wedged between the first generation of immigrant adults and the second generation of U.S.-born children.

"It is a very promising generation, but our laws are written in such a way that we treat them like criminals," he said.

Garcia meanwhile is hopeful for his future in the United States, and is currently working on building up his case. At the least, the immigration judge should extend Garcia's stay for another year because there is hope (and hope is all we, undocumented students, have) that DREAM Act will pass in 2009.

It is every graduate students dream; being offered an assistantship that includes full tuition plus a stipend.

Recently one of the graduate schools I applied for offered me the above. The admission office was aware of my *situation*, but the actual academic program I was applying for did not.  I had to turn the offer down.

I explained to the program that I was undocumented, and that I do not have a work permit or green card or any other paper that allows me to be employed. I did take a gamble by ‘coming out' about my situation. I was hoping that the school could give me the assistantship offer in another form, such as tuition reimbursement without the stipend.

In the end the school was unable to help me, but they did spend two weeks trying to see if there was a way I could be eligible just for tuition. Between complicated immigration laws and the universities own policies, there was nothing the program could do. I appreciated their efforts whole-heartedly for they could have immediately said the offer was revoked. Even though I cannot afford that particular school without any help, my parents do have enough savings for me to enroll in another graduate school.

I did some research about undocumented students and stipends, and I found the following information in a Guide for AB 540 students (undocumented students in California):

Stipends:  Undocumented students' may be eligible for privately funded stipends.

Research
Working on your own research with faculty members at a college or university is one way to get research experience and possibly earn money. Sometimes undocumented AB 540 stu­dents are paid for this type of work in the form of a "stipend." A stipend is a sum of money allotted on a regular basis, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. Undocumented AB 540 students may be eligible for stipends if the source of funding is tax-exempt. If the stipend comes directly from a public college or university's funds, undocu­mented AB 540 students are not eligible. Remember, government funds are not available to undocumented AB 540 students.

I know I earned the assistantship - through hard work and my achievements in undergraduate school. It is very frustrating knowing the only reason I cannot claim it is because of my immigration status; because of a choice made by my parents when I was only five years old.

I am not the first DREAMER who has turned down an assistantship or internship or job offer, and I will certainly not be the last until the DREAM Act passes. There are a lot of undocumented students who were just graduating high school or early in their college career when DREAM Act was first introduced as a bill in 2001, and who are now in their mid-twenties. Some of them have gone on to law school, medical school, and graduate school. If the United States doesn't pass the DREAM Act in the next year or so, these DREAMERS will be forced to leave the only home they know, and the country will lose a group of well-educated Americans.

Every school has its traditions. Over the past few years it has become a tradition in a high school in southern Wisconsin to one day a year to allow the Spanish classes recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish.

However this year when the Pledge, on March 11^th, was recited in Spanish, parents become outraged. So outraged that the parents demanded the school fire the Spanish teacher, the principal, and the superintendent. The superintendent says he was even physically threatened.

I can understand Americans being frustrated when immigrants do not learn the English language, but going as far as threatening someone because one day a year the school allows the Pledge of Allegiance to be said in another language is ridiculous and shows only ignorance. I almost want to laugh at their objection, but it again shows how racism is still an issue in this country. The people objecting to this feel it is unpatriotic, but the excuse does not hold any water. Say the Pledge in whatever language you choose; the meaning of the words does not change.

In the article in The Progressive, one parent is quoted saying,

"I don't want any of my three boys coming home saying, ‘Dad, we did the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish.' "

The same man's son says he feels it is disrespectful to the troops.

I've stated above why I believe this is untrue. And the superintendent, Fjelstad, responded eloquently with this:

I know there are 400 Hispanic speaking soldiers that won't disagree with them. They can't disagree because they gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, there are 110,000 Spanish-speaking Hispanics serving in the military that I believe would agree with me that speaking Spanish does not dishonor the military.

One pathway to legal status in the DREAM Act is enlistment in the army for at least two years. If given the chance, there are many undocumented students who would join the army and the marines in a heartbeat. A lot of these students have wanted to join even before they'd ever heard of the DREAM Act or had even thought of joining as a possible way to earn legal status. The army needs more soldiers, and there are willing recruits, but without the passage of the DREAM Act, their undocumented status is an unfortunate roadblock.

Recruit is at an all time low; low enough that the army and marines are letting in more and more convicts because of the soldier shortage.

According to Reuters,

"The Army, the largest branch of the U.S. military, gave felony waivers to 511 recruits last year, up from 249 in 2006, according to the figures released by a congressional panel. The Marine Corps granted 350 waivers, up from 208 the year before."

DREAMERS are being punished for breaking a law they did not know they were breaking - crossing the border or visa overstay. For some reason this crime (a misdemeanor according to the law), which occurred while they were minors, is unforgivable and cannot be overlooked. Though both the army and the marines is willing to overlook and waive adults convicted of assault, burglary, manslaughter, and sex crimes. 

It just doesn't make sense. I am all for giving people second chances, but there was a reason why at one point, people charged with these crimes weren't allowed to join. If Congress had gotten their act together and passed the DREAM Act, perhaps the country wouldn't be reduced to enlisting the convicted.