Rally Tomorrow At Mason Park For The DREAM Act

Keep the DREAM alive. That’s what community activists in
Houston are trying to do tomorrow at Mason Park when they hold a rally in support of the DREAM Act, a piece of federal
legislation that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship.

Officially called the Development, Relief and Education for
Alien Minors Act, (see our take on it here) the proposed law would let illegal immigrants who entered the United States
before the age of 16 and have lived here for at least five years to earn
permanent residency by either serving in the military for two years or by
completing at least two years of college.

Sponsors of the tomorrow’s rally, Immigrant Families and
Students in the Struggle, ask that supporters don their cap and gown to
symbolize all of the undocumented students’ graduating from high school and
college. The event in Houston
coincides with the National DREAM Act Graduation Day in Washington,
D.C.

Different versions of the proposed law have been kicking
around the Congress for years. In 2007, the bill made it to the Senate floor, where it received a majority of votes, but still eight votes shy
of the 60 it needed to survive a filibuster in the then-Republican body. Many
conservatives see the measure as an amnesty plan disguised as an education
initiative that would potentially expose the country to more illegal
immigration.

The rally is scheduled for 3:30
pm at Mason Park, located at 541 S. 75th
Street.