Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/905854
30 ADVOCATE | WINTER 2017 Social Justice "As a DACAmented educator and a student, I see the fear in the students in my school as a result of the White House's decision to rescind DACA," said Hugo Arreola, a DACAmented educator from Phoenix, Arizona. "There is a lot of confusion and panic because we do not know what the future holds. We feel exposed. The Dream Act will go a long way towards providing Dreamers the certainty we deserve as we continue to contribute to the country we call home. We are Americans in every way except for our immigration status. It's time for Congress to permanently fix that." "It is imperative to understand that there are real and different life experiences for DACA recipients, just as there are for Americans," said Lee- Ann Graham, a DACAmented student and paraprofessional from New York. "Advocating for the rights of immigrants has been a priority for myself well before President Trump's election and latest actions. Much of the history of the United States is a history of immigrants coming to this country and defeating overwhelming conditions and tyrannical powers. And so we have persevered. It has been my mission to advocate on behalf of DACA students and undocumented immigrants so they don't feel isolated, afraid or unsure about their futures. We cannot allow the lives of these individuals to be upended just to score political points. I urge Congress to take immediate action and pass the Dream Act of 2017." "My dream is to become a teacher," said Vicente Rodriguez, a DACAmented student and educator from Inland Empire, California. "For the past seven years, I've worked hard toward this goal, taking courses at a community college while working minimum wage jobs to cover tuition and support my family. The day President Trump rescinded DACA, it seemed like my dream of becoming a teacher was being yanked out from under me. I have less than two years left with DACA and I will not surrender—I've worked too hard, come too far, and sacrificed too much to give up now. I will continue to fight for the undocumented. Congress: it's time you fight for us." The National Education Association's three million members and the 50 million students they serve are in the middle of a proactive sustained grassroots campaign to urge Congress to pass the Dream Act of 2017. Thus far, members of NEA and the public have taken nearly 60,000 actions— calls, emails, postcards, and meetings— into Congressional offices since the campaign's inception. In addition, NEA launched a mass migration of messages to Congress on the wings of digital butterfly postcards. Butterflies are becoming a recognizable symbol of the beauty of migration and signify transformation and freedom. This art aims to substitute images and words of fear with visions of our shared humanity. Visit dreamers.neaedjustice.org to learn more about the butterfly campaign and to send a postcard to Congress. n 2016 NEA Social Justice Award Finalist Hugo Arreola with NEA President Lily Eskelsen García after meeting with members of Congress at the U.S. Capitol.