Campus march to support federal bill

Close to 300 are expected to march at noon tomorrow from Bruin
Plaza to Janss Steps to support a federal bill currently on the
floor of the Senate that would allow children of illegal immigrants
more opportunity in higher education.

Rally organizers want to target Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist, R- Tenn., so he will push other senators to support the
bill, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors
Act.

Passage of the act will allow immigrant students who have grown
up in the United States, graduated from high school in the country,
and demonstrated good moral character, to qualify initially for
“conditional lawful permanent resident” status, which
would typically last for six years. During this period, the high
school graduate would be required to go to college, serve two years
in the military, or work a minimum of 910 hours of community
service.

At the end of the conditional period, those who meet at least
one of these requirements would be eligible for regular lawful
permanent resident status.

Students from the campus organizations Immigrant Rights
Coalition and MEChA have been working in cooperation with
non-profit organizations such as the American Civil Liberties
Union, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and
the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund for about a
month to organize the rally .

Speakers that include UCLA students, alumni as well as high
school students, are scheduled to give testimonials about the
importance of attaining a higher education as an illegal
immigrant.

Voter registration and phone-in opportunities for students to
urge Sen. Frist to pass the bill will conclude the rally.

Because this controversial issue also affects the community
at-large as well as the college community, many non-UCLA students
are expected to attend, including at least three buses of local
high school students.

The “Dream Team,” a coalition of L.A. groups that
have collaborated to help pass the bill, has been actively
organizing in the community and working with rally organizers to
bring in participants.

Gustavo De Haros, a student participant in the Immigrant Rights
Coalition, said the rally was organized to occur at Janss Steps to
emulate the speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. at UCLA in
1955.

“We want to make a connection between his struggle and the
immigrant community,” De Haros said.

The DREAM Act is a bi-partisan bill that was introduced on July
31, 2003 by Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill.,
and is supported by Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Daniella Conde, the MEChA community and labor coordinator,
believes the passage of the bill may alleviate additional burdens
on undocumented students, especially in light of the burden caused
by fee hikes.

Currently, children derive their immigration status solely from
their parents. When their parents are undocumented, the children
have little chance of obtaining legal residency.

“Sixty-five thousand illegal immigrants graduate from high
school every year in the U.S.,” said Kenia Rivera, a member
of the educational committee of Immigrant Rights Coalition.
“Think about the influence that these people could have on
our economy if given a college education.”

Opponents to the bill fear its passage would increase illegal
immigration, possibly causing a large-scale amnesty movement. Plus,
admission for illegal students will take away slots for legal
residents, says Dan Stein, the executive director of the Federation
for American Immigration Reform on the organization’s Web
site.

Because of the upcoming elections in November, supporters of the
bill fear that momentum to pass it will be replaced with
campaigning efforts.

“We will have to start again from scratch,” De Haros
said.