Fasters & advocates for DREAMers and their families stage DC rally & Congress visits

by Félix Pérez

The Fast for Families bus tour reached its final destination last week in Washington, DC, after traveling more than 15,000 miles during the past six weeks and visiting more than 100 communities to urge elected leaders to pass common sense immigration reform on behalf of DREAMer students and their families.

The executive director of the National Education Association, which helped sponsor the bus tour, joined civic, religious, labor, and political leaders and 100 women fasters April 9 as they held a series of actions at the U.S. Capitol and met with political leaders from both parties.

NEA’s John Stocks, who took part in a mass arrest at an immigration rally last October, said, “We advocate on behalf of the children who sit in our classrooms every day – these are our students, the children who educators know by name and by neighborhood and by family. Forcing them to live in the shadows of society because of their legal status is wrong,” said Stocks.

As part of the April 9 day of action, educators were encouraged to come out publicly in support of DREAMer students by participating in the National Educators Coming Out Day. Educators from across the country posted pictures on social media outlets.

Despite support for immigration reform by the majority of Americans and the U.S. Senate’s approval of a bipartisan bill, House Republican leaders refuse to schedule a vote. Meanwhile, 60,000 DREAMers complete their studies at U.S. high schools every year.

EDUCATORS: Learn more about how you can help your DREAMer scholars make their dreams of a higher education a reality. Read and share NEA’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: A Back-to-School Guide for Educators.”