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Dec 2010 Blogathon: Why does America need the DREAM Act?

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
'DREAM ACT' Poster designed by SANTIAGO UCEDA“DREAM ACT” Poster designed by SANTIAGO UCEDA

Worried & angry about the DREAM Act’s progress through Congress? Want to remind them what it’s about?

Tell us and all our readers!

AAA-Fund proudly announces its December 2010 Blogathon. Please send us your blog post on the following topic:

Why does America need the DREAM Act?

HOW TO ENTER:

Send your entries to Richard Chen ().

But hurry! The deadline: Tuesday, Thursday, December 23, 7 pm ET.

We will review and publish every entry that meets our standards for publication (translation: well written content, but no abusive or offensive language). Please make sure to include a suggested title for your piece.

As with our Blogathon last year, readers will get to decide the winner each week. Details will follow in the individual entries’ posts.

The prize? A free ticket for you and 1 significant other (a $200 value) to AAA-Fund’s Spring 2011 Annual Dinner in Washington, DC.

Filed Under: Economy, Education, Foreign Affairs, Immigration, The Editors Tagged With: , , , ,

WH: Statement from the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs in Support of the DREAM Act

December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ed. Note: The below is a statement from the White House Initiative on AAPI’s President’s Advisory Commission in support of the DREAM Act including comments from Commerce Secretary Locke.

U.S. Department of Education
Office of Communications & Outreach, Press Office
400 Maryland Ave., SW

Washington, DC 20202

FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, Dec.1, 2010
Contact: Public Affairs Office, (202) 401-1576 or

Statement from the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Support of the DREAM Act

The President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders supports the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (“DREAM Act”). The DREAM Act is good for our economy, our security, and our nation.

“Research has shown the potential of undocumented students to contribute to the economy and the U.S. workforce,” said Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce Secretary and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “The DREAM Act would offer a rigorous and lengthy pathway towards earned legalization that would be a powerful incentive for young people to stay in school, graduate, stay out of trouble, and contribute to the economic stability of our country.”

According to a University of California report, Asian and Pacific Islander students make up approximately 40 percent of the total undocumented student population enrolled in the University of California system. Additionally, many undocumented Asian students are children of parents who have fled from war-torn countries.

“The DREAM Act would provide an opportunity for eligible undocumented students who have been raised and educated in the United States to earn legal status by pursuing a higher education, or by serving in the U.S. military,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who also serves as Co-Chair of the White House Initiative. “Enacting the DREAM Act would be an important part of our efforts to meet the Administration’s goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.”

It is estimated that approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year, many at the top of their classes, but they cannot go on to pursue their dreams of higher education or continued development. According to the Migration Policy Institute, one in ten potential DREAM Act beneficiaries comes from an Asian country.

“This critical bipartisan legislation will establish a process for hardworking young people who have lived most of their lives in this country and tend to be bicultural and fluent in English to obtain legal residency if they are able to meet certain conditions,” said Daphne Kwok, Chair of the President’s Advisory Commission.

Executive Order 13515, issued by President Obama in October, 2009, established the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Commission advises the President, through the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, on the implementation and coordination efforts of Federal programs as they relate to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the Federal government. In addition, the Commission works to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased access to, and participation in, Federal programs in which they are underserved.

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The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW · Washington DC 20500 · 202-456-1111

Filed Under: Economy, Education, Immigration, Obama Administration Tagged With: , , , , ,

Immigration Policy and Assimilation of Immigrants

December 17, 2007 By Leave a Comment

The Washington Post Sunday Outlook opinion section (December 16, 2007) published articles by a Yale law professor, Amy Chua, “The Right Road to America” and two filmmakers, Annabel Park and Eric Byler about the anti-illegal immigrant movement in Prince William County, Virginia.

Amy Chua, whose Filipino Chinese parents immigrated argues for favoring highly skilled workers instead of family reunification, making English the official national language, more assimilation, sanctions against workers and employers and an ethnically neutral immigration policy (“make the US an equal-opportunity immigration magnet”).

Annabel Park and Eric Byler give their perspectives as a Korean child immigrant and a child of a Chinese mother and white father. They have been filming Board of Supervisor meetings on anti-illegal immigration measures and interactions between immigrants and anti-illegal immigrant protesters. The Hispanic population in Prince William County has doubled from 2000 to 2006 to 19% of the total population, leading to resentment among many residents.

I came to America when I was 2 years old. My father was a diplomat from Taiwan and later a computer programmer. They lived in America for more than 30 years. The Chinese community in the DC area was not that large, especially in the 1960′s and 1970′s but my parents socialized only with their Mandarin speaking friends. My mother worked as a keypuncher but never felt comfortable speaking English. She probably wouldn’t have voted very often if I hadn’t encouraged her. I have some other older relatives who also don’t participate in the larger community. The next generations more than make up for their lack of participation. My relatives include a Peace Corps volunteer, an Army officer in Iraq and a Morman active in her church.

It would have been better if my older relatives participated in the larger community, as Amy Chua advocates, but they chose not to. I’m not sure what the Federal or any other government could do to increase their participation.

- Rose Chu

Filed Under: Immigration, Rose Chu Tagged With: