undocumented students at Brave New Films

A Hypothetical 'Undocumented' Situation - What would You Do?

2008-07-03T23:57:30Z

I believe that it is paramount to see and understand an issue from another person's perspective before casting judgments about them. Unfortunately, the most extreme anti-immigrant activists and nativists simply treat "illegal immigrants" as a homogenous case with no, and I mean no, lee-way, variations or extenuating circurmstances. It is simply "tough luck" from their point of view. I wonder how much of it would be "tough luck" if one of them got ripped from their home, family and friends, and got accidentally deported.

You are a U.S. citizen, fall in love and marry an undocumented immigrant. There is no way of legalizing his status without returning to his country and a separation of up to ten years. You are both forced to move to Mexico instead of undergoing separation. Tough luck?

Your naturalization is derailed and you are detained by the ICE since you forgot to update your home address, making them charge you for a felony! You lose your legal permanent residency and are set for deportation. Tough luck?

You are twice denied citizenship and set for deportation since you failed to show up for fingerprints. Why? You are a quadriplegic on a ventilator. Tough luck?

You are six years old and an American citizen. Your father is apprehended and detained by the ICE in your presence and you do no get to hear from him for months. Tough luck?

Supreme Court Won't Hear Kansas In-State Tuition Case

2008-07-03T12:00:43Z

Once again, the Courts have come down on the side of undocumented students. After losing the battle in district courts and appeals court, Kansas Chairperson of the Republican Party, Kris Kobach made one final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, only to be turned down. Obviously, the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have nothing to say on the issue that hasn't already been said by the district and appeals courts: the plaintiffs do not have a right to sue.

It is highly unlikely that any court would strike down in-state tuition laws and thereby, deny undocumented students the right to attend institutions of higher learning. Instead of giving up, Kobach is out to get new plaintiffs to create new lawsuits. He insists that the courts skirted around the issue of equal protection and federal immigration law that we have already answered on this blog. Kobach continues to insist that in-state tuition rates for the children of illegal immigrants are "illegal" while the courts say otherwise.

While we are on the topic of "illegal," for those who don't know, Kris Kobach is the GOP politician that sent out emails boasting about voter caging--an ILLEGAL tactic employed by the Republican Party to purge likely-Democrat voters from the polls.

Whose "equal protection" rights are being violated by providing instate tuition to undocumented students who are in effect, state residents, that have resided in-STATE and attended high school there for at least three years? I would love to hear from some new plaintiffs that Kobach is claiming to represent.

In the meantime, undocumented students in at least 11 states are eligible to attend college at resident tuition rates.

The Debate Over In-state Tuition for Undocumented Students - FAQs - Part 2

2008-07-02T01:07:19Z

Part 1 is here

Do individual states have the right to “establish reasonable criteria” for in-state tuition? In Goodhart v. Bd. Of Visitors, the District Court for the Western District of Virginia ruled that a state had a legitimate interest in protecting the right of its bona fide residents to attend its colleges and universities on a preferential basis. “Preferential tuition rates serve not just legitimate, but important, state interests.” The decision upheld a resolution by a university in Virginia not to grant instate tuition to a student from Georgia who had moved there for higher education and claimed to remain indefinitely.

Does 8 U.S.C. § 1623 prevent states from granting instate tuition to undocumented students? Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Title 8, Chapter 14, Sec. 1623(a)) states: "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident." Some interpret this law to mean that instate-tuition for undocumented students is unconstitutional—the Courts have thus far skirted around the issue.

The Debate Over Instate-Tuition - Challenges and Affirmation Part 1

2008-06-26T18:36:41Z

While the DREAM Act does not grant instate-tuition rights to undocumented students, oppoonents of the legislation have effectively spread myths purporting that "illegal aliens can get instate-tuition anywhere" with passage of the legislation. This is baseless and untrue--in state tuition and residency determinations is a state prerogative. Eleven states currently provide in-state tuition to children without legal status in the United States (Texas, California, Utah, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Nebraska.) Thus far, legal challenges and lawsuits filed against these states have been dismissed by courts.

For a legal background of the in-state tuition debate, we first look to Vlandis v. Kline et Al (1973), in which two students who had recently established residency in Connecticut brought suit against the state under § 1983, alleging that the provisions of 1971 Conn. Pub. Acts § 126(a), which created an irrebuttable presumption of nonresidency for purposes of determining tuition between residents and non-residents in the state's universities, violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the suit—“the state was forbidden by the Due Process Clause to deny an individual the resident rates on the basis of a permanent and irrebuttable presumption of nonresidence when that presumption was not necessarily or universally true in fact.” The court concluded that due process required that students should have the opportunity to present evidence of their bona fide residency within the state for in-state tuition purposes.

ICE's Newest Trick: Deporting Valedictorians

2008-06-14T17:27:08Z

From Corinne Ramey of the Drum Major Institute:

I've written about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials' schoolyard antics before, but the recent news that ICE is planning to deport a California high school valedictorian just affirms my view that these immigration authorities need to get out of the schools. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The valedictorian at Fresno's Bullard High School won't be attending college in the United States this fall because he's scheduled to be deported.

Seventeen-year-old Arthur Mkoyan's 4.0 grade-point average qualified him to enter one of the state's top universities. But he and his mother have been ordered back to Armenia after their last appeal for asylum failed. The family fled from what used to be part of the Soviet Union and has been seeking asylum since 1992.

But, rest assured, ICE shows its nice side once in a while (and if it's not clear, I'm being sarcastic here). As a sort of consolation prize, ICE decided to let Arthur stick around for graduation. According to the article, "A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement says they were given an extension until June 20 so Mkoyan could attend his graduation ceremony."

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch Speaks in Support of DREAM

2008-06-13T18:42:57Z

One of the co-sponsors of the bipartisan federal DREAM Act, Orrin Hatch recently stated that while the DREAM Act has little chance of passing right now he still believes in the bill and finds it unreasonable to punish undocumented students for crimes they did not commit.

Source

Video: Undocumented Students at UC Davis

2008-06-30T12:49:37Z

Watch the video

Applauding Cindy Carlisle for Backing Immigrant Tuition

2008-07-17T12:16:24Z

In the current climate of immigrant scapegoating and spewing hatred towards undocumented students, Colorado Democratic state Senate candidate Cindy Carlisle is displaying courage and wisdom for supporting an instate-tuition bill for undocumented students.

On her website, Cindy states that:

For non-citizens, it's full out-of-state tuition, no scholarships, and very little financial aid from Colorado's public institutions... Undocumented children of undocumented parents should also get in-state tuition, as they do in ten states, if they have been in Colorado at least three years, graduated from Colorado high schools, and sign affidavits pledging to apply for legal status. Scholarships to attend Colorado schools should be available to qualified non-citizens like Nuria, and to undocumented high school graduates too, as in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

In Colorado, undocumented students have to pay out-of-state tuition for higher education, which makes it unaffordable to attend college.

The article coverage is here. Please support Cindy Carlisle and other pro-DREAM legislators.

South Carolina: First to Bar Undocumented Students

2008-05-31T01:25:13Z

Stuck in the deep recesses of the South and in a horserace to appear tough on immigration, the South Carolina Senate has approved a get-tough on immigration measure that among other things, would bar undocumented students from higher education in the state.

S 392 which may be signed as early as next week reads:

SECTION 17. Chapter 101, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding: "Section 59-101-430. (A) A person who is not lawfully present in the United States is not eligible to attend a public institution of higher learning in this State, as defined in Section 59-103-5. The trustees of a public institution of higher learning in this State shall develop and institute a process by which lawful presence in the United States is verified. (B) A person not lawfully present in the United States is not eligible on the basis of residence for a public higher education benefit including, but not limited to, scholarships, financial aid, grants, or resident tuition."

Goof-up - Arkansas Governor on Instate-Tuition for Undocumented Students

2008-06-13T17:28:05Z

The Associated Press and several other news outlets picking up the AP are quoting the Arkansas Governor Beebee for stating that a "legal opinion he signed while he served as the state's attorney general in 2005 clearly showed giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition likely would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment."

I was immediately curious as to how someone could possibly conceive that instate-tuition for undocumented students would violate the 14th Amendment. It made little sense--if anything, the opposite was closer to the truth. And I was correct. This is what the Governor actually wrote in his 2005 legal opinion:

"First, it is my opinion that the amendment adequately resolves the issue of possible violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Both undocumented aliens and U.S. citizens who meet the requirements of attending high school in Arkansas can obtain resident tuition rates and eligibility for scholarships through HB 1525 on the same basis, following the amendment. Because there is no unequal or disparate treatment based on alienage and both groups or classes are treated equally, there is no denial of equal protection. Accordingly, it is my opinion that the amended bill would withstand scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Clearly, either the Governor is being quoted wrongly by media outlets or he has conveniently forgotton his legal opinion in the frenzy to scapegoat immigrant students.

The federal statute in question during instate-tuition debates is 8 U.S.C. § 1623, which 10 states have already circurmvented. Legal opinion on whether instate-tuition for undocumented students violates that federal statute is unresolved and varied at best. Till now, both the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway had offered undocumented students in-state tuition rates. That is about to change.

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made of

2008-06-13T18:49:33Z

"..basically the legal system made us illegal..." - Sonia, senior at Loyola Academy.

Students at Loyola Academy have put together this three-part documentary in support of the DREAM Act legislation.

I was drawn to Sonia's story because it resembled mine in so many ways. She immigrated with her mother to the United States with a proper visa but as they waited for their paperwork under their aunt that has taken more than a decade to process, their legal status ran out rendering Sonia--who has practically grown up here--an 'illegal' American.

Most immigrants have little idea about the lengthy visa process before they came here--my parents certainly did not. They weren't playing with a full deck of cards as they are today--completely assimilated after a decade of living here and knowledgable about the American immigration system. And it is a bit hypocritical to claim that 'they should have known' before coming here when most American citizens probably cannot pass their own citizenship test, let alone know much about immigraton to the United States.

Watch the video

Deporting our Picasso (Update on Meynardo Garcia)

2008-06-04T15:26:50Z

A video update is here featuring Meynardo Garcia.

What does America gain from deporting a young, talented artist like Meynardo Garcia?

Are we 'safer' as a country by deporting him? No, he is not a criminal by any stretch of that word.

Are we enforcing the rule of law? No, Meynardo Garcia hasn't broken any laws--He is not responsible for illegally entering the United States with his mother at the young age of 10 and his illegal presence is a mere civil infraction.

Are we saving precious taxpayer resources? No, in fact by deporting Meynardo we are losing eight years of our valuable K-12 investment in him, exporting our very own Picasso/Van Gogh to another country after cultivating that talent. What sense does that make?

Click here to request that our next President takes action on the DREAM Act, which would grant conditional residency to undocumented students like Meynardo Garcia so that they can pursue higher education in the United States and so we can continue to keep talented and passionate students like him that do America proud and enable us to compete in the global political economy.

DREAMers in Colorado - In Pursuit of Higher Ed Dreams

2008-05-31T02:10:43Z

"I don't know how I am going to do it, but I am going to do it. I am going to make my dreams come true."

In 2004, John Hickenlooper made a promise to students from Cole Middle School in Colorado that if they graduated from high school, he would help find resources to help them pay for college.

At the time, Cole was one of the poorest performing schools in the city and about one-third of the students were undocumented. Yet they listened to the mayor, enthused by his promise, and decided to pursue their dreams and beat the odds against them. The time has come for the mayor to fulfill his promise and his office has run into trouble: the undocumented student graduates would be required to pay out of state tuition in the state they have resided-in for most of their lives, and are therefore unable to afford higher education. This is due to a 2006 law by the Colorado legislature that stipulates instate-tuition for only those that can prove citizenship.

Karen Hernandez's parents came to the United States nine years ago. She says she didn't have a choice in the matter. She says she shouldn't be penalized for it now. The high school senior has an A average and she plans to go to Metropolitan State College of Denver and study pre-med. She thought everything was taken care of. Now, she says, "I don't know how I am going to come up with the money."

North Carolina Plays Ping-Pong with Undocumented Students

2008-06-08T15:30:26Z

Playing ping-pong with the future of our students in North Carolina continues as now the Community College system has clarified that undocumented students in the system already can remain. The policy has supposedly changed 4 times, but the NC Community College system has still barred future enrollment of any undocumented students. The NC university system continues to be open for undocumented students although it is quite unaffordable for most students who would have to pay out-of-state tuition.

Just to clarify something the community leader said in this video as an answer to "So, why don't undocumented students apply for citizenship?" The answer is simply not that it is a lengthy and expensive process but also because most undocumented students are simply ineligible for citizenship--there is NO LINE to get into if your parents brought you here illegally. The DREAM Act grants students that line.

Watch the video

Despite clarification, NC bars undocumented students!

2008-07-25T20:48:16Z

The debate over college admissions for undocumented students continues in North Carolina even after clarification from the U.S. Customs and Enforcement that federal law did not prohibit undocumented immigrants from seeking higher education.

And yet, today the North Carolina Community College system has decided to bar illegal immigrant students until further clarification:

"Until we receive further clarification, we will no longer admit individuals classified as illegal or undocumented immigrants into curriculum degree programs."

What further clarification is needed?

OneDream2009 - Underground Youth Movement

2008-07-17T02:50:46Z

It is really heartening to see more students come out and organize for the DREAM Act. The above is an effort that was started by OneDream2009, a group of 20 undocumented students in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Yet, instead of working separately, we should branch out and seek to connect with more student groups. The good news is that the online student advocacy efforts for the DREAM Act are well-linked and growing with this site, numerous student blogs, DreamAct.info and the newly constructed DreamActivist.org, an effort by DREAMers across the United States working together online.

Watch the video

ICE - Undocumented Students Not Barred from Seeking Higher Education

2008-07-25T20:48:17Z

For the past few months, we have witnessed conflicting points of views expressed by the public officials in North Carolina on whether to allow undocumented students access to postsecondary education. Yesterday, the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) clarified once and for all that federal law did not prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending colleges.

Last year, David J. Sullivan, assistant to the president for legal affairs for the North Carolina community college system, wrote to the leaders of the 58 community colleges that, “notwithstanding any policy of the local board, colleges should immediately begin admitting undocumented individuals” as out-of-state residents. Governor Easley agreed while the systemwide President, Martin Lancaster issued a statement saying

"For North Carolina to be competitive in a global economy, it must depend on a knowledge-based workforce which makes it imperative that every future worker in North Carolina receive as much education as possible. To deny a significant portion of tomorrow’s workforce any higher education opportunities will not only hurt these young people who came to North Carolina through no fault of their own, but it will also significantly diminish their incomes forever. The consequences to North Carolina are reduced tax collections and potential payments for social services and incarceration long into the future. This will hit the pocketbooks of those who now oppose maximizing the earning capacity of everyone who lives in North Carolina. This ill-advised position would hurt North Carolina and its economic future and will increase the tax burden of those now screaming the loudest."

Yet, this past week the Attorney General of North Carolina wrongly interpreted federal immigration law, stating that it prohibited undocumented immigrants from attending colleges and North Carolina must stop doing so immediately. This misperception is shared by many and it is about time our officials responsible for upholding immigration law clarified that there was no law on the books that prohibited postsecondary education of undocumented immigrants.

New DREAM Act book: Underground Undergrads

2008-06-17T02:43:48Z

After "Documented Dreams," a collection of letters by high school DREAMers, the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education has come out with "Underground Undergrads"--an anthology written by undocumented students at UCLA.

For more information and to purchase the book, click here.

The American Prospect ran a review of the book with some great commentary about the DREAM Act:

The truth is that many of these young people have never known any other home but America. They’ve never dreamed any other dreams but those that manifest in American law schools and science labs. Some of them have never even spoken a language fluently other than American English (for better or worse).
And they don’t just need America. America needs them. We have always benefited from the ingenuity, passion, and dedication of immigrants. It is the zeitgeist that has animated our American story for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the other part of that story is one of xenophobia, state-endorsed relocation and violence, and fear. I’d prefer to tell the former version this time around. Wouldn’t you?

Click here to read more.

DREAM Act Students Opt for Suicide in Detention

2008-07-25T20:48:17Z

When NY Times obtained and released the list of immigrant detainees that have died in detention from 2004-2007, I immediately scrouged the list for young adults, hoping that I would not find any persons who may have been eligible under the DREAM Act. What I discovered left me shocked and rattled.

Barely in their 20s, Felipe Garcia-Sanchez, Ervin Ruiz-Tabares, Nery Romero and Raudel Carlos-Cortez, chose to commit suicide in detention. More young adults in their late 20s and early 30s--Cesar Rioz-Martinez, Geovanny Garcia-Mejia, Juan Salazar-Gomez, Sebastian Mejia Vicentes, Hassiba Belbachir--also resorted to suicide rather than deportation. Who were these young adults? Could any of them have qualified under the DREAM Act before their final deportation orders? What are their stories? Were conditions so horrible that they opted to take their own lives rather than live another day in-limbo and in fear of being sent to a foreign country? Did we separate them from their U.S. citizen spouses and children? Did we unknowingly condemn our future doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, scientists and social workers to death? We may never know.

We don't have many details on these individuals but on the most part, they were probably either legal permanent residents being deported due to prior misdeamnors and felony convictions or immigrants detained due to the civic violation of being undocumented. To draw an analogy, imagine being detained for breaking a traffic law, locked up in bad humanitarian conditions and ending up dead. Sounds like 'cruel and unusual punishment?' You bet.

Last Resort - Private Bill to Stop Students' Deportation

2008-05-25T09:43:54Z

Last year, Monica and her cousin, Jose, both seniors at a high school in Dallas, were picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both of them represent the wasted talent and lost investment that America is willing to export in the form of migrant bodies.

Monica has been in the United States since she was five years old, maintained excellent grades and stayed out of trouble. Her only alleged transgression is that her parents brought her to this country without proper documentation. After living and growing up American in this country for thirteen years, Monica faces deportation to a place and culture foreign to her. At this time, her deportation hearing has been delayed for another month.

Another DREAM Act beneficiary, Jose faced his final hearing at the Immigration Court in Dallas hoping to stay his deportation, fully supported by the Central Dallas Ministries, which "committed to stand with him, pay for his higher education and support him in every other way as he completed college." The federal prosecutor did not want to exercise administrative discretion and Jose was given a "voluntary departure" judgment that must be fulfilled within 120 days.

Voices - Undocumented British Citizen with an American DREAM

2008-07-25T20:48:19Z

My nickname is Mckrakin and I am a proud British citizen.

I identity as an American. I have been here for fifth-teen years in an American society going through grade school, high school, and college. I have been an intricate part of my community and everyone views me as an American. There is a sense of betrayal coming to America and legally being left out to dry because of aging out. I will always be proud to be a British Citizen and it will always be my home.

At the age of ten my parents, siblings, and myself moved from the United Kingdom legally to the United States for my fathers dad job opportunity. We left behind grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, and another life. It was a hard transition and culture shock that took a long time to get used to. I am currently the age of twenty-five.

My country of birth is the United Kingdom and I still have a vivid memory of the England that it used to be. I am sure it has changed beyond belief. It would be a good assumption that living in England would not be much different from here. The main point is that we should have the right to choose in the first place. The right to have freedom to do what we want and be where we want. Everyone should have that right. My parents made the right choice at the moment to seize an opportunity. I blame nothing in their fault but do wish that future situations would have been made aware and the consequences. It would have been nice to avoid the situation entirely.

I have received two bachelor degrees of music with an emphasis of Vocal Performance and Music Pedagogy. They were from an accredited American University. Music thou is not my true passion. I am a avid actor and performer. In 2005 I auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and got accepted to the prestigious school. Due to my status and lack of money I was unable to attend. It hurt a lot to be so close to my dream yet so far away. The location where I live allowed me to attend college. People don’t think of a British person having an immigration problem. It hurts to not be able to have the rights of a normal citizen. People take freedom for granted.

Depoliticizing Immigration and the DREAM Act

2008-07-25T20:48:19Z

57,000 years ago, the first human migrant made her/his way out of Africa to colonize Eurasia. The first wave of globalization was thus underway and since then, humans have emerged from the cradle of civilization to travel, explore and settle in different areas of the world--sometimes peacefully, and other times, acrimoniously. This country was settled quite acrimoniously but the current trend of migration promises peaceful integration for the most part.

In the current era of capitalist globalization, migrants have taken the form of skilled and unskilled migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, family members and students seeking movement beyond arbitrary political lines. Immigration has become a political issue since the coming of the Other--and is now a problem area that is ferociously debated at times, with politicians vying for votes using their positions on migrant control policies.

And yet, some migration is more politicized than others--without proper logic and reason. The issuing of H-1 visas to skilled workers, diversity visa lottery, random grants of refugee status, and visas for professional athletes are not very political issues of concern--in the sense that people do not take to the streets protesting that David Beckham is taking an American job. But the 'Mexican'--legal or illegal--is the centerpoint for all our immigration "problems" much like Portuguese workers in Canada to the point where most Americans want to build a fence across the U.S.-Mexican border to solve this "problem." The recipe for this food for thought includes some historical amnesia mixed with ignorance and racism as a spice. Does anyone care to explain why some work is political and other work is deemed irrelevant for political battles? Why one group of people have an inherent right to citizenship while another has to earn that citizenship? Why capital is free to escape to cheaper sources of labor while the movement of workers is more stringently controlled?

The need for federal action on Immigration

2008-05-02T23:44:52Z

The federal political deadlock over immigration has spurred local counties and states into taking matters into their own hands. In 2007, 1562 immigration bills were introduced in 50 states and 240 enacted in 46 states, compared to 570 pieces of legislation introduced and 84 enacted in 32 states in 2006.

On one hand, we have Prince William County that is paying heavily for cracking down on illegal immigrants, and on the other, Mayor Newsom is spending $83000 advertising San Francisco as a sanctuary city--a symbolic gesture against the likes of Operation Endgame. On the college front, while 9 states are granting instate-tuition to undocumented students, states like Missouri and Virginia have tried to ban the children of illegal immigrants from attending colleges and most just follow a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. But providing sanctuary or instate tuition and eligibility for scholarships and grants is simply a bandaid -- with all the haphazard irregularities in state, local, and federal laws, undocumented students still face uncertain futures and are at risk for deportation.

Brave New Review: Under the Same Moon

2008-06-13T09:35:02Z

What is the price of being an immigrant? That is the biggest issue of the movie Under the Same Moon.* The movie tells the story of Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), son of an undocumented immigrant in Mexico. He lives with his grandmother. His story parallels that of many immigrant kids, not just from Mexico but from Central America as well. His mother, Rosario (Kate del Castillo), works as a maid in two homes, also paralleling the lives of many undocumented immigrant women.

The story takes off after the unfortunate death of Rosario's mother, forcing young Carlitos to take the trip North in search of his mother who lives in Los Angeles. The story is about Carlitos's journey through dangerous and unknown territory. Carlitos crosses the border while hiding in a car, almost being sold to pedophiles and being caught by ICE. Eventually, Carlitos joins Enrique (Eugenio Derbez), another immigrant who takes him under his wing after being indifferent. As a side note, the movie is outdated as of today because they mention immigration authorities as being INS when they should be ICE—INS disappeared on March 1, 2003. Unless the movie is being set in the past, before 2003, immigration enforcement is ICE.

My Impending Divorce with the L-word

2008-05-12T17:14:55Z

Over the past few weeks, I have engaged in debates with concerned liberals over the DREAM Act, and I have come out of these shocked and betrayed. These are the people I usually stand shoulder to shoulder with at an anti-war or pro-choice rally, and help bail out of jail.

The conversation usually starts with misconceived notions of DREAMers as "illegals" who want a free ride in college and who don't even pay taxes. When I step in to note how my parents did in fact pay thousands in taxes and that we paid my way through graduate school (without taking loans), I am accused of either fabrication or privilege. "You should quit feeling disempowered" is the comment levied at me last week, and I knew I had to step back from the discussion at that point because this person was knowingly or unknowingly scapegoating and I was not about to share the levels of disempowerment that I face in American society.