NCEquals's blog

Two dozen immigration scholars from across the state and working at several North Carolina colleges universities -- UNC, Duke, NC State, ECU, App State, UNCG and UNCA -- have released a letter imploring Sens. Kay Hagan and Richard Burr to support the DREAM Act.

They write: "These are not students looking for a handout. These are hardworking students, many of whom are graduating with honors and as valedictorians of their classes. They want the opportunity to work. Someday, if the DREAM Act passes, these children will be your electoral constituents, as will be their parents. Certainly, their future children will be your constituents, and will be able to run for office themselves. What legacy would you like to leave for your future constituents?"

Read the whole letter and see the signatories at ncequals.org/323 or after the jump...

Are you aware that the DREAM Act will be voted on this week?

Senator Kay Hagan has said that she supports the DREAM Act but would not support it as a stand alone bill. NC Equals is urging supporters like you to take action and reach out and urge her to vote YES on the DREAM Act. Every person like you who reaches out with a voice for support counts.

Did you know?

• 65,000 undocumented students graduate each year
• Though students may go to college, they must pay out of state tuition
• The DREAM Act would make undocumented students eligible for temporary non-immigrant status after commiting to attending college or joining the military
• DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM)
• It is a bipartisan bill

We hope you will take just a few minutes to take action and fill out a simple message form to Senator Kay Hagan. You can include your name, city, ZIP code, a brief message with your thoughts on the DREAM Act and your photo.

NC Equals will gather your responses, attach your photo to a mock college application and fax it to Senator Kay Hagan’s offices. Each college application, with the words “DREAM DENIED,” will send a powerful message to Senator Hagan: Vote YES on the DREAM Act.

Please, take action today: ncequals.org/dreamdenied/

Hello BlueNC community! First, an introduction: NC Equals is a grassroots movement of Charlotte's Latin American Coalition. We're working to build political power among low-income communities, people of color, youth and immigrant communities in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro and elsewhere across the state. A great deal of our focus at the moment is on the DREAM Act and 287g programs. In addition to on-the-ground, face-to-face activism and advocacy, we're ramping up to utilize the wealth of tools new media and social media provide, along with the great resources available among North Carolina's progressive blogosphere.

Once a week, we'll post our advocacy staff's weekly commentaries and join in on discussions as much as we can. We hope to become a valuable part of the BlueNC community and we hope you find our staff's thoughts interesting, thought-provoking and challenging. The commentary below is from our Raleigh-based field director, Irene Godinez.

Thanks y'all!
Matt Comer
New Media Coordinator, NC Equals
http://ncequals.org