On Campus Blog

How DREAM Act supporters are reacting to its failure

Fellow Argo-network blogger Leslie Berestein Rojas writes in Multi-American that DREAM Act supporters aren't giving up despite this weekend's defeat:

The Dream Act supporters in Los Angeles said they would keep pushing for the legislation in the future. Several different versions of the measure have been introduced since 2001, and while many said they were upset that there has been no success after all this time, they planned to keep trying.

The New York Times reports on the immediate effect and reaction on some of those who campaigned for the bill's passage:

The movement has been driven by thousands of students who “came out” to reveal that they did not have legal status, and to recount their academic achievements and the barriers they faced. Now that their status is public, they have nowhere to hide. Meanwhile, an estimated 65,000 illegal immigrants are graduating from high school each year.

“We have woken up,” said Carlos Saavedra, national coordinator of the United We Dream Network, a student group. “We are going to go around the country letting everybody know who stands with us and who stood against us.”