Courtney Fugate SOC 290 Reflection Paper: Undocumented and Unafraid Undocumented and Unafraid focuses on the DREAM

Act and those people who have realized that their silence was inhibiting their ability to gain support for their cause and thereby attain progressive action for what they believe is important. Two members of the IDEAS group formed on UCLAs campus in the mid-2000s are a huge focus point of the DREAM movement because they provided people just like them with an example of how to live in the light, even when undocumented. Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix rallied themselves, and each other, to get through college and life against unsurmountable odds. While conquering their initial apprehension about being known as undocumented they also fought an ongoing battle against difficulty brought on by the state and federal governments due to their unidentifiable or alien status. More than two million immigrant youth have been brought to this country as children and believe America to be their home however, because of their alien status they cannot apply for drivers licenses, prohibited from obtaining financial aid, are barred from student loans, are ineligible for most scholarships, and more. If they do manage to get through college, most graduates will be stuck in low-income, underground positions because they cannot legally and gainfully be employed. Therefore, many immigrant college graduates are prohibited from acting on their full economic and academic potential. This also keeps them from paying taxes which hurts the U.S. economy considering the fact that

each year approximately sixty-five thousand undocumented immigrant students graduate from U.S. high schools. The DREAM Act proposes to grant United States citizenship to undocumented students or those who entered the country as children through at least two years in higher education or service in the U.S. military. Of the estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, more than two million are minors. These young people would gladly attend college or serve the only country most have them have ever known. Some steps have been taken in helping these young, undocumented and promising individuals achieve their dreams. One of these monumental steps came through California legislature. Assembly Bill 540, or AB 540, lifts one of the many barriers that immigrant youth encounter upon entering college by lifting some of the financial burden they face. Undocumented youth are not eligible for financial aid and must pay out-of-state tuition. The passage of AB 540 in 2001 allowed undocumented youth to attend college and pay instate tuition. In addition to the financial relief an undocumented student experiences with the passage of AB 540, the bill also provides the student with a new identity. Many of these students refer to themselves as AB 540 students versus undocumented. Although these are just words, they provide students with a little hope that things can change and that their struggles, hard work, and dedication are not in vain. Through campaigning to pass the DREAM Act a national movement has formed unlike any before it. Mostly due to the danger each member of the public movement faces because of their undocumented status and because of the age of most of these participants.

The majority of the actions taking place all over the country are orchestrated by collegeaged youth with strong, passionate hearts. Dreamers and allies alike put their lives and hearts on the line to try and rally support for the DREAM Act through civil disobedience actions, walks and marches, pilgrimages and lobbying, mock graduations, National Coming Out of the Shadows Days, and rides across the country. These people believe that a small piece of paper should give one person more rights than the other and will demonstrate this in concrete, determined acts of protest like walking the Trails of Dreams or riding in the Freedom Ride. Undocumented students are not able to live like the rest of their peers. They are in a constant state of fret for their legal and financial situations and work hard toward uncertain futures. Policies like AB 540 have encouraged generations of students but are not and ultimate fix. Bills like the DREAM Act would help undocumented youth to accomplish their dreams and goals for themselves while aiding and benefiting their community and their country. How do you think an organization like IDEAS would effect UNC? Both negatively and positively. Do you think a group like this is needed on our college campus? If so, why? Do you think there are a high number of undocumented students? If so, where do you think most of them are from? What do you think they are likely studying?

Do you think our geographic area and social world in Chapel Hill would make an undocumented migrant more or less likely to announce their status publicly?